This sell-out show has to be the high point of the festival so far, with its superb triple-bill of staggering high-energy music and dance.

The Drummers of Burundi were mesmerising to watch with their frantic physicality and stunning playing.

As they entered the theatre through a side door, bashing the huge drums they carried on their heads, a thrill shivered through the audience.

The whir of limbs chopping and heads snapping, the sizzle of sweat thrumming in the air and the fantastic, pounding cacophony made this an incredible evening's entertainment.

It was a superb final act to top off the evening, which also featured South African trio Tananas and Zimbabwean singer and mbira player Chartwell Dutiro.

Steve Newman, the guitarist with Tananas, used his guitar as a percussion instrument in a way I have never seen before. He hit it and tapped it and scraped it to create a completely new sound which echoed beautifully through the theatre.

The Theatre Royal seemed a strange venue at first for such hot-blooded music but the acoustics were fantastic and none of it was really get-off-your-seat-and-dance stuff.

Tananas played a beautiful blend of jazz, pop and African sounds with drummer Ian Herman almost matching the Burundi boys for kinetic energy.

Chartwell Dutiro opened up the concert with his mbira playing - an incredible instrument which looked like it was made from some kind of gourd and sounded like a sophisticated steel drum.

As he coaxed a reluctant audience into a singing session, several women in the stalls looked like they would swoon at his sunny, melodic, sexy voice.

All three acts were completely different but brilliant in their own way. This was a great evening which really stood out for its quality, energy and ecleticism.

Theatre Royal, New Road, Brighton Tuesday
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