The rhythm of life

The Barbican's vast stage resembled a minimalist Japanese courtyard as lacquered kodo drums (diako) were laid out for a series of physically absorbing vignettes involving some of the world's most extreme drumming.

In two decades, Japan's Kodo Drummers have redefined the repertoires of traditional ensembles while still employing the diako (meaning heartbeat and "children of the drum") - the vast O-diako, hewn from a single tree and possessing a thunderous voice that penetrates the earth, sharp-tongued smaller models and barrel drums played with club-like sticks.

The show flowed meditatively through pieces inspired by wind, moods and myths. Water was represented as small pittering raindrops and great thudding monsoons, while a barrage of stormy rhythms sounded surprisingly like a samba band.

The intense choreography of these sprite-like young musicians (including two women) in leggings, short kimonos and bandanas, was astonishing: three leapt like prankish monkeys playing small drums, cymbals and bells, while a t'ai chi-style stick dance saw two drummers perform on barrels with impossible force while seated on the floor.

Monotony was avoided when two men in sumo loin cloths played the mother drum on its high cart like rival wrestlers, launching at it with hefty sticks. Harness-like tunics and bare sculpted arms added a charged eroticism.

There were also delicate performances on a Balinese xylophone, a bamboo f lute interpreting wind blowing through reeds and a piercing bird song, and an ensemble who mixed koto (zither) with kokyu (Japanese fiddle).

Remarkably, in two hours of physically exhilarating drum rhythms, the audience didn't move, possibly because unlike an African drum orchestra or salsa band, kodo drummers don't employ cross-rhythms or syncopation.

But the brilliant spectacle held the audience transfixed.

Repeated tonight. Information: 020 7638 4141.