Philippe Decouflé is a showman, creating his works out of a freewheeling jumble of circus, magic, song and dance, and surreal theatrical illusion. Yet he is also a lifelong admirer of Pina Bausch, and in his latest production he pays tribute to her 1978 classic, Kontakthof.
There are whimsical nods to Bausch throughout. The 15 performers are an eccentric mix of age, size and personality. During the show they engage in confessional dialogue; talk to the audience; adorn themselves in fantastical costumes and lose themselves in little raptures of dance – including Decouflé’s homage to the Bausch lineup, in which the cast glide across the stage executing a tight, unison hand-jive.
But while Bausch’s works follow a compelling dream logic, the narrative in Contact is a less convincing hotchpotch. Decouflé’s cast are a troupe of performers, preparing to stage a musical version of Faust; and in a highly tenuous fashion, their colourful mix of entertainments is meant to evoke the world of sensual delights with which Mephistopheles bargains for Faust’s soul.
Faust is played by the veteran Decouflé comedian Christophe Salengro, resembling a spindly Jacques Tati. As Salengro dithers around the stage, Mephistopheles (Stéphane Chivot) tempts him with (among other spectacles) a pair of spinning aerialists, a choir of singing, roller-skating angels and a kaleidoscope of Busby Berkeley dances.
There’s bags of charm and energy on stage but, disappointingly, a creeping sense of randomness. Too many numbers, including a long choreographed street fight, feel like opportunistic additions. The quality of too much of the material is erratic, especially the music, which at best has an eerie beauty but at worst is tediously derivative rock.
If Decouflé committed himself to a tighter and stronger narrative arc, this could be a work of real substance. Yet despite its flaws, Contact is built to entertain and its hardworking cast are delightful.
• Until 18 June at Sadler’s Wells, London. Box office: 0844 412 4300. Buy tickets from theguardianboxoffice.com or call 0330 333 6906.
