Stampede
Stampede is a promenade piece looking at crowds and rioting. At what point are you prepared to declare yourself publicly? What would make you take to the streets?
Performed in theatres and nightclubs Stampede included excerpts from a secret police manual about riot control, Terminator and interviews with the six performers about loss of control.
A system of pressure pads allowed the audience to trigger recordings of different mind control techniques. A live video projection link provided surveillance of different areas of the space which, at times, was the only way to see the performance.
Alongside a soundtrack by Bristol-based dance band 'Statik Sound System', anthemic tracks such as Teen Spirit by Nirvana and extreme Techno pushed both performers and audience.
The performance itself - lasting 60 minutes - was fast and furious: a constant barrage of leaps, skids and falls interwoven with moments of quiet isolation and exhaustion. Stampede toured the UK extensively throughout 2004.
"Blast Theory are fast emerging as one of the most exciting performance art groups of recent years. Their latest show, Stampede, draws on sexual confession and cult mind-control techniques with a combination of video projects, computers and performance. The three London-based artists have created a style that fuses theatre, technology and club culture in an innovative and relevant way." i-D, November 1994
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