Insane in the Brain **** TNT

Saturday 26 September 2009 16:27 GMT

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Insane in the Brain

This article was first published on tntonline.co.uk on Saturday 26 September 2009 16:27 GMT.

Swedish company Bounce is back with its vibrant street dance version of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, an energetic, non-stop ride through the doomed tale of rebellious psychiatric patient Randal Patrick McMurphy and his battle of wills with the strict nurse in charge of the ward.

Oddly, the cast start off speaking, but then – and far more effectively – abandon words and let movement and music tell the story.

Defiant from the start, Fredrik “Benke” Rydman’s loose-limbed, body-popping McMurphy not only thinks he can get the better of the intransigent Nurse Ratched, but also tries to bring a bit of fun into the lives of his fellow inmates – superbright Dale with his obsessive compulsive disorder which makes even going to bed a major undertaking; stuttering Billy Bibbit who’s too scared to talk to girls until McMurphy sneaks the obliging Candy into the asylum, a Christ-like Chief Bromden (here a wheelchair-bound figure who suddenly finds his legs rather than the mute Indian chief familiar from the big screen). Then there’s Jenny Widegren’s hippy hoppy, blankly happy Miss Martini whose mane of flying blonde hair deserves a credit all of its own.

The eclectic music ranges from banghra (Panjabi MC) to classical (Grieg) via Lionel Richie and Missy Elliott – and the inventive staging is equally varied. An inflatable sex doll makes a brief appearance, the patients bungee-bounce off the walls during jarring ECT treatment and, having effected a short-lived break out, McMurphy leads the escapees right down into the stalls to watch a comic episode on the silent screen.Then there’s a dangerously exciting faceoff between the two adversaries and one last wild party before the inevitable climax of this fun, fast, but ultimately poignant interpretation of the nature of madness and the misuse of power.

Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street WC2A 2HT (0844 412 4322) www.sadlerswells.com Until 3rd October (£10 - £36)