REVIEW: Tap Factory drums up interesting take on tap-dancing

Tap Factory is an international hit show for all the family, featuring tap dance, street dance, percussion, comedy, and acrobatics. 

But quite interestingly, for what is ultimately a dance show helmed by just eight men, is its masculine framing.

The whole thing is set in an industrial setting full of hazards, smoke, and metal bars and drums, the cast all wear overalls and present themselves as workers in this, well, factory setting. 

And then, I guess because they can, they all proceed to tap-dance, breakdance, and drum their way through a series of dance numbers and gymnastic performances, some played for laughs, others highlighting awe-inspiring physical feats and most of them just being straight-up cool. 

Highlights for me were a solo barefoot tapdance number on a metal plate covered in sand, the rousing finale that included smoke rings being fired into the audience, and an initial routine featuring a step-ladder being used inventively to aid a tapdance routine. 

The 'janitor' character's incoherent comedic ramblings were less of a high point as the audience was left mostly confused by it all, but the thematic point is that no one speaks, there's no language or explanation. The focus is on the music and the dancing.

But despite this bemusement, he was still exceptionally talented at being able to hold a crowd with this routine at all, not to mention his dancing, drumming, and one poignant moment where he plays the flute, all being top-notch. 

The 'janitor' character who spent the whole show speaking in a language no-one could understand, while also dancing, drumming, singing and playing the flute (Image: Tap Factory)

Tap-dancing is a hard thing to centre an entire hour-and-a-half show on, but each routine was visually and audibly different enough from the previous one to keep me entertained throughout, especially when the other disciplines were peppered in between them as well. 

The whole thing was very inventive, very thrilling, and thoroughly entertaining. And, it was the kind of thing that had I watched it when I was a lot younger, it would have left me leaving the theatre wanting to learn how to tap-dance, play drums, or do a vertical push-up off of the top of a ladder. 

Alas, I'm not able to tap-dance, or play any musical instrument, let alone the drums, and I can barely do a normal push-up so doing one off a ladder would be nigh-on impossible. But what I can do is write that Tap Factory is well worth checking out if it's ever back in town.