Music theater group Släpstick immerses the audience in the twenties ★★★☆☆

Visit the show by music theater group Släpstick and you will be immediately immersed in the turbulent 1920s. ‘I’ve got the roaring twenties in my head / And I really can’t explain it’sings Rogier Bosman in the opening, a cheerful song full of Charleston jazz sounds.

In their music theatre, praised at home and abroad, the five-piece group Släpstick (formerly Wëreldbänd) combines music making with physical comedy. Musically they command admiration: the five men play the most diverse instruments. It results in a great performance by George Gershwins Rhapsody in blue, in which the five members switch instruments for each musical part. Very well done.

On the comedic level they are less accurate in The Roaring Twenties† Some scenes are fun, such as the musicians who have to take shelter together in one British telephone box during a storm. Or the French romantic who is repeatedly presented with the wrong objects while composing. Many other scenes lack an original, comedic twist. Like the scene in the barbershop, where a nice atmosphere is created, but a good joke is not forthcoming. The same goes for the scene about decent British sports, which lasts very long and cannot match the classic sketch on the British sports field in terms of absurdity. jiskefet†

As a result, the show occasionally collapses, no matter how much is pulled out of the closet on a theatrical level. The finale, in which the men get into an antique car and drive through Manhattan, is spectacular. But also because of the rest of the performance Släpstick could have used more surprising jokes. And perhaps also more pure throwing and throwing work, in order to do justice to their name.