Brighton Fringe 2019
Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco Walking Tours
Guru Dudu
Genre: Comedy, Dance, Fringe Theatre
Venue: Outdoor
Festival: Brighton Fringe
Low Down
Enjoy his hilarious dance-walking tours of spontaneous flash mob dancing through the streets, interpretative dancing around Brighton landmarks and lots of crazy interaction with onlookers. Everyone wears headphones (supplied) and can hear the fun commentary from Guru Dudu and the dance mix of uplifting favourites from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. Wear comfortable footwear and preferably come empty handed (no bags, etc).
Review
This has to be one of the silliest and least high brow things to do at the Fringe this year, but it is also one of the best things I have done.
On a gloriously sunny Friday evening, we gather on New Road and are presented with a pair of headphones, through which we will receive our instructions and music. Guru Dudu presides over the whole experience – a small Australian man in an orange onesie, whose boundless energy and dance instructions lead us around town.
I had unwittingly signed myself up to a Queen special Silent Disco walking tour, which was great as it meant I knew all the words. Apparently the music is usually a mix ranging from the 60s to the present day.
We began with Flash Gordon, and the 40 or so Silent Disco participants roamed around the pavement making superhero poses, and doing a synchronised dance.
What is so wonderful about the Silent Disco is of course the fact that the passers by can’t hear anything, and so people are constantly being surprised by a crowd of people bellowing a song in unison, seemingly spontaneously. I took my headphones off several times during the walk to see what we looked like, and it’s fair to say that we looked strange but brilliant.
What I think I loved most about this show was how utterly joyful it was. The participants were a huge range of ages and abilities, and nearly everyone was totally into it; dancing unselfconsciously through town, singing to strangers and grinning from ear to ear.
Guru Dudu was on the mic, so could give us all instructions as we went around. Often these were traffic related (cars passing by got flanked by us all and given a ‘car wash’), but sometimes they were dance related, and at one point we all ended up emotionally serenading a young Chinese couple who looked thrilled but baffled.
For a Queen special, it was unsurprising that we finished with Bohemian Rhapsody. Facing each other, Guru Dudu directed us like a fine choir master, the choral sections done in a big sing off, and of course with plenty of air guitar.
Of course our antics drew a big crowd, and we were entertaining for the groups of outdoor drinkers. What better publicity for your show than all audience members visibly having a blast. I’m not at all surprised that they are sold out, and unlike most fringe shows – with big numbers and no venue costs, they are probably raking in the dosh too.
