Critics normally review the performance, not the audience. But in the case of this hip-hop musical about young men playing streetball on a sink estate, produced by Europe's oldest black theatre company, Nitro, you really couldn't distinguish between the two: there was as much theatre going on in the auditorium as there was on stage. There wasn't just dancing in the aisles but actually in the seats. The kids roared their approval and disapproval of the characters' behaviour, kept up a running commentary on the action and were clearly having a ball.
Was this distracting? Well it made it rather hard to follow the plot and some of the dialogue, although this probably hardly mattered as we are not talking too deep and meaningful here. But it also made it one of the most exhilarating and enjoyable afternoons I've had in the theatre for a while. There is no question that this mostly young audience were totally engaged and excited by what they were seeing and their raucous response was totally in gear with this raucous show. It is a sharp reminder that the audience is as crucial as the actors, and that art does not exist in a vacuum, but needs context and community to make it meaningful.
Let's not get overheated here. Slamdunk is not going to give Stephen Sondheim any sleepless nights. It is basically a simple story of male bonding and loyalties, which asks whether you should try to get on in life if it costs you your friendships. The messages it sends out are as mixed and confused as some of the twists in the plot. But it succeeds in making you care for its characters, it has a sly wit and electric energy, and the mixture of dance and basketball moves is never less than poetry. The cast are as wired as thoroughbreds at the starting gate for a big race. Don't even think about buying a ticket if you have passed your quarter century, but if you want to see what gets a young audience going, this is quite an experience.
· Until February 28. Box office: 0121-236 4455. Then touring.
