Review: STORIES, Peacock Theatre

Smashing together tap dance and film noir, Romain Rachline Borgeaud’s Stories is wrapped around an immersive form of storytelling. Is the world ready for tap noir?

The high tempo first scene could be straight out of the Golden Age of Hollywood. A busy press room is bustling with anonymous journalists running around all looking to file copy while seeking approval from the editor-in-chief. Amid the hustle and bustle, a cub reporter bursts in and is heavily scorned by the man in charge. The tension between the two builds and builds until, in a coup de théâtre that could have come straight from a Peeping Tom sequence, we see that this whole thing is happening on a sound stage and being co-ordinated by a director.

The mood instantly shift but on a diagonal from what we just witnessed. The power dynamic is now more about the demanding director looking to get the best out of his young established actor Icarus, praising him even as he not-so-surreptitiously interviews other talent.

From there, reality and fiction are entwined as we see our hero find himself caught up in an underworld filled with dark alleyways, casinos and a host of unsavoury characters. A violent kingpin takes notice of him, as does his moll. When he sends his men after Icarus, she helps him escape. It’s no shock when romance rears its head and all this rushing around finishes on a hand-to-hand fight between the two men but, in another twist, the watching director freezes time and manoeuvres Icarus into stabbing the mob boss to death.

The choreographer’s company RB Dance Company is barely known this side of the channel since it was founded in 2018 but have appeared in numerous shows in France including their version of Britain’s Got Talent. As shown by Stories, the reasons for their appeal is manifold. Strong and brave direction gives this show an incredibly cinematic vibe. The constant and fluid flow of action from the newsroom through to the back street scenes feels more like a continuous take rather than a series of set pieces.

The crepuscular lighting adds volume and texture to what we see, the precise spots and monochrome shading adding an immersive feel to the storyline. A clever touch sees cigarettes with LED tips shine through one darkly lit scene as the dancers move around.

And as for the dancing? Borgeaud drives this ten-person troupe hard, the stage a vivid tableau with barely any pauses in the story for 75 minutes. Don’t let the brief running time fool you: there is a no-filler, all-killer stream of physicality from the moment the curtain rises. The bland upbeat music that could have soundtracked an 80s aerobics video doesn’t do justice to a sparky choreography that is tightly attuned to the shifting narrative and the clever use of props like canes and suitcases. 

Borgeaud never quite explains who the director is and how he is connected to the actor. Is this a Fight Club-type scenario with both being the same person? Or is this inspired by The Devil’s Advocate in which Keanu Reeve’s corporate lawyer finds out that his amoral boss happens to be Satan and his father? Then again, perhaps this is a nod to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks which split its lead character into two for the last season. A mature artwork allows us to form our own equally valid interpretations of its intent and Stories definitely does that.

Stories continues on tour.

Photo credit: Aline Gerard

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