Stomp’s The Lost & Found Orchestra return to Brighton Dome

STOMP’s The Lost & Found Orchestra comes to Brighton Dome this Christmas

Get set for a new breed of pipers piping and drummers drumming this Christmas as STOMP’s The Lost and Found Orchestra return to the city for a special run of shows at Brighton Dome.

“It’s like a Dr Seuss Orchestra! It’s a big celebration really,” explains Luke Cresswell, co-creator of STOMP and orchestra conductor.

The spectacular symphonic experience sees everyday objects turned into a plethora of invented instruments. Using everything from musical saws and bottles to whirly toys, traffic cones and rope ladders to create a dazzling array of homemade instruments, every section of an orchestra is captured in all its aural glory.

“It looks really odd but if you shut your eyes or start to forget about what they are playing, then it becomes very musical…and obviously melody can be quite emotional,” Cresswell explains.

Over the last 20 years, STOMP have become internationally renowned for their raucous rhythm shows. By adding this element of melody, the Brighton-based company have begun to explore new territory.

“We sent one of our performers, who has perfect pitch, to the garden centre. He hit and sought out flowerpots with the perfect ‘G’ or the perfect ‘C’, and then we hung them up to play,” Cresswell continues.

“We also have a selection of keys and each key makes a particular note. We literally went through thousands of keys until we got the right ones. Once people get over the fact that we are using keys they start to listen to the melody and find that actually it sounds great and it sounds very beautiful.”

Backed by a choir, The Lost and Found Orchestra also incorporates the human voice to the mix – transforming the plucked, blown and thumped melodies into complex symphonic

and choral structures. Add some astonishing physical theatre and more than a healthy dose of tongue in cheek comic behaviour, and the world’s most anarchic orchestra is born – perfect festive fun for families, music aficionados and those who like their theatrics lively and loud.

The Lost and Found Orchestra Thursday 20–Saturday 29 December 2012 (excluding 24, 25 & 26 December), Brighton Dome
7.30pm and 2.30pm (matinees Saturdays and Sunday 23 December only), £27.50, £22.50, £18.50, £15 (under 16s half price)
www.brightondome.org