Cannich Hall, 4 May 2012, and touring

MOST of us think of parkour being performed on expansive cityscapes and buildings; not under the roof of the local village hall.

BRIGHT Night International and Glasgow Parkour Coaching’s latest production shows just how versatile this dynamic genre can be.

Wee Jamp

Wee Jamp melds parkour, circus theatre, acrobatics and dance to create a family friendly show which packs the venue. Spectators sit at the edge of a street scene complete with a bus stop – they’re dancing, in a public place, have they carried out a risk assessment? Aside from creating a striking visual image, this innovative set multitasks as both a platform for stunts and a premise for the story.

A precise sequence of events is something that some contemporary performances lack, losing younger viewers who are used to watching narratives. Wee Jamp tells an ambitious tale – the lives of four friends from childhood to old age – and holds the audience rapt, switching seamlessly between hilarious and sombre moments of school, first love and the world of work.

This ‘Skins with somersaults’ premise allows the story to develop without straying into the realm of sentimentality; events are told at such as a pace that they remain profound without becoming cloying. While some might find the amount of mime necessary to craft these scenes grating, the choreography remains fresh, and each sequence is greeted by enthusiastic applause from the younger audience.

This connection with spectators is key to the show’s success as a production. Instead of feeling exclusive to the performers, there’s a real sense of inclusion in what they are doing on stage, as if their back-flips, jumps and splits are all things that could be executed in a playground. The performance finishes with an announcement that anyone who wants to try parkour can join the dancers for an impromptu workshop. The stage instantly fills with children.

Fortunately, the tour dates mostly include smaller venues, which will hopefully reach more young people across the Highlands. Events like these need to be brought out of Inverness and into smaller communities who need the sense of possibility that this kind of performance can bring.

© Rowan Macfie, 2012

Links

• North By North East
• Bright Night International