Review: YAMATO THE DRUMMERS OF JAPAN: HITO NO CHIKARA (THE POWER OF HUMAN STRENGTH), Peacock Theatre
Beat this: Yamato's latest show hits the spot.
Drummers are a particular breed. Keith Moon of The Who famously drove a limousine into a swimming pool during his 21st birthday party. Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee both engaged in hotel debauchery: Bonham rode motorcycles along corridors while Lee launched fireworks from balconies. Then there was the terrifyingly violent Ginger Baker who, when not raising hell on stage for Cream, threatened those around him with knives and canes. So, at least from a Western perspective, whoever came up with the concept of putting nine drummers into a band was either extremely foolish or admirably brave.
That person is founder, musical composer, choreographer, and artistic director Masa Ogawa. In 1993, he formed his group in Asuka-mura, Nara Prefecture (formerly known as Yamato). Over the last three decades, they have played over 4,500 performances across 54 countries. They are famous for their nomadic, communal lifestyle; the performers live, cook, train, and create collectively in their Nara base.
Yamato (stylised as YAMATO) are no strangers to the Peacock Theatre: previous shows include Chousen - The Challenger (2017), Jisei - The Beat of Life (2019), and Wings of the Phoenix (2024). Hito no Chikara marks their major 2026 return with fresh material specifically responding to post-digital anxieties.
Hito no Chikara — Japanese for "the power of people" or "the power of human strength" — has been touring globally since 2025 before this debut UK run. The show is a riposte to a world being shaped every day in every way by artificial intelligence, asking what truly remains human.
The theme arose from a specific provocation from Ogawa: as AI rapidly evolves, what will become of human beings? From there came the thought that perhaps one day robots or androids could hold drumsticks and perform perfectly synchronised rhythms. Yamato's answer is to make the body itself the argument: the show is the counter-argument.
And what bodies. Open kimonos hang off lean torsos, wiry arms and ripped jeans. These are not the chaotic demolishers of rock legend but men and women dedicated to their art form with the deep dedication that Japan is famous for. Their passion shines through every sequence, their split-second timing a marvel to behold.
Despite (or maybe because of) the theme, there is little in the way of fancy tech on display beyond a few nifty but utterly disposable projections on a screen. The chief attraction as ever is the huge odaiko, a two-metre wide drum carved from a 400-year-old tree that weighs roughly 500 kilograms; the sound that comes from it is every bit as big as those numbers. Smaller instruments — some on pedestals, some slung around the body — complement the big beast. Later on, a stirring shamisen sequence features five musicians strumming the three-stringed lutes to dizzying effect.
Those thinking this sounds like a dour recital should think again. The audience interaction gets us shouting and thrusting our hands in the air and humour is threaded in throughout; at one point, the odaiko is beaten not with the usual pair of drumsticks that are the size and shape of rolling pins but with something that wouldn’t look out of place in Fred Flintstone’s meaty hands.
Hito no Chikara leaves the ears ringing, the heart full and the feeling that Ogawa’s crew are in their own way a particular breed: focussed, dynamic and thoroughly entertaining.
Hito no Chikara (The Power Of Human Strength) continues at Peacock Theatre until 30 May.
Photo credit: Yamato
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