DONNING Levi s and Blundstone boots, six strapping Aussies will be stomping on to the Gordon Craig stage on Monday. The Olivier award-winning Tap Dogs return with their explosive reinvention of tap and will be stamping and splashing their way through the

DONNING Levi's and Blundstone boots, six strapping Aussies will be stomping on to the Gordon Craig stage on Monday.

The Olivier award-winning Tap Dogs return with their explosive reinvention of tap and will be stamping and splashing their way through the energetic show.

Dance captain and assistant director, James Doubtfire has toured with Tap Dogs for the past nine years.

He says: "The show is great fun. It's fast, energetic, funny, and dangerous, all at the same time."

James, who started dancing at the age of four, trained at North Herts College in Hitchin for two years before performing across the UK and Europe.

"I used to have to go with my mum, sister, and cousin, and sit and watch them dancing, so I decided to join in.

"I was hyperactive as a child, so I needed something to put my energy into.

"When I first started dancing I didn't think I'd make a career out of it."

James has had parts in musicals such as the UK tour of 42nd St and the first tour of Me and My Girl, along with a host of ­television appearances.

Touring with a group of lads is ­fantastic, he says.

"We all have these characters in the show that have built up through the years, although it didn't start out like that.

"There is the foreman who's in charge, the big guy, the funky guy, the kid or apprentice, and the annoying one - that's probably me!"

"I loved performing in South Africa and Australia," says James, but he is looking forward to returning to Stevenage with the Tap Dogs.

Dein Perry, who learned to tap behind his school teacher's house in Newcastle, a steel town north of Sydney Australia, created the Tap Dogs in 1995.

The show, influenced by Perry's industrial background, sees the macho cast begin building the set by hand while tapping on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.

The Tap Dogs show can be experienced from October 1-6 at the Gordon Craig ­Theatre in Stevenage.

For tickets call the box office on 08700 131030.