Släpstick Brings a Hurricane of Laughter to Wilton’s Music Hall
21 classical masterpieces in 1 minute? That’s just the least of what to expect from the acclaimed musical clowns Släpstick in their recent award-winning show, Schërzo—a delightful and hilarious mashup of well-known classical pieces by Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Brahms, and many more. Here, laughter becomes the only universal language. And believe me, these mischievous guys are hiding plenty of surprises in front of you that will literally laugh your ass off.
The cast (Willem van Baarsen, Rogier Bosman, Sanne van Delft, Jon Bittman and Jaap Rovers) are dressed in stitched black suits with colourful striped socks, completed by exaggerated, comedic white mustaches reminding you of the clowning nature of the performance. They often employ the rule of three (sometimes more than three) combined with escalation, a common technique in Commedia dell’Arte to build up the show. When mixed with classical music, the effect is striking in many scenarios.
It is especially astonishing when the cast tries to soothe a crying baby into sleep by playing Brahms’ Lullaby. Starting from smaller, more regular instruments such as violin and piccolo, the cast gradually evolves into playing larger percussion instruments like crash cymbals and bass drums. Eventually, this accumulates into a rowdy farce where two enormous Alphorns appear, blowing out Lullaby in one of the most absurd ways you can even imagine. A genuine jaw-dropper. Such escalation occurs again near the end of the performance, when the cast does a tap dance, progressing from normal tap shoes and traditional zoccoli, to unimaginable ice skates and eventually skis.
While the cast excels at performing these raucously funny moments, they are not short of mastering more delicate scenes, such as composing a percussion piece using a set of disposable plastic cups. One cast member also performs a brilliant ventriloquism routine, staging a quarrel between Beethoven and Schubert, represented by their marble-bust-like puppets.
The classical pieces featured in the show are some of the most familiar works (including excerpts from Swan Lake, Radetzky March, and the overture to Le Nozze di Figaro), but even if you don’t recognise them, it won’t detract. Just sit back, relax, and let Släpstick wipe out your rainy-day blues.