When I sat down in the intimate Leicester Square theatre I had no idea what to expect.
All I knew was that I was going to see a light show, that was a bit like the Blue Man Group and I probably wouldn’t like it because of my heightened biological (read wimpish) sensitivity to strobe lights and loud music in confined spaces.
And when the act began, all my fears were realised. It was so loud and so bright and made no sense. I couldn’t image sitting, in a theatre environment, through an hour of just loud noise, bright lights and silly hats.
Then suddenly, about five minutes in, I realised that I was completely wrong in my initial judgements. Siro-A is such a far cry from just music and lights – the show ultimately consists of clever, creative and staggering interactions between the performer, video, music and the audience.
The performers were incredibly precise and talented; a lot of the show relying upon their exact timings, movements and reactions, which in itself is incredibly impressive.
In the end, Siro-A turned out to be a treasure trove of delights and brought out my inner (Japenese) child – laughing throughout at bleeping noises and animated cats. Amid the humour, however, were astounding theatre pieces, one in particular being a performer starting an electronic beat with the thud of the ball hitting the ground, this then becomes a shadow and he builds up the track, adding various layers through different movements – all which then become a different coloured shadow.
The show lasted exactly one hour (Japanese precision at it’s best) and I would have liked to see more – however this is perhaps more testament to the show being very enjoyable as opposed to it being too short.
Siro-A is a great show, especially if you manage to catch it before going on a night out as the humour, lights and thumping are the perfect recipe for a great party starter.
Siro-A tickets are available from the Leicester Sq Theatre Box Office or you can enter the competition on their Facebook page to win tickets to the show and a night in a top London hotel.