Continue reading »]]> It is upsetting that my favourite show of the 2013 Adelaide Fringe, in my favourite venue of this year’s festival, was discovered so close to the end of the season.

First to the venue – The Birdcage is one of the seemingly dozens of pop-up theatres around the state at the moment. Located in the fairly charmless Arcade Lane, this eclectic venue truly does appear to have literally sprung up from the ground, and given how it is tucked away inside the lane and up an endless flight of stairs makes you feel as though you are entering a secret, exclusive and whimsical club.

A perfect venue, then, for Alice in the Madhouse, the bizarre and nightmarish imagining of the ubiquitous children’s story. Presented almost impeccably by Madhouse Circus, a Victorian ensemble of young performers, this show approaches the quality of Cirque de Soleil, on the budget of the Adelaide Fringe.

Terrifying and emotive, hilarious and sexy (yes, ladies, there are some very attractive young men wearing very little in this show – I would almost recommend it on this basis alone), inventive and highly impressive, this show flawlessly combines physical comedy, dance, aerobatics and acrobatics with pathos and storytelling. Although there were a few – minor – opening night jitters apparent in the performance, these were swept up into the rhythm of things without a hitch, and the seamless storytelling was never interrupted.

Frankly, for me this show was near perfection, a true cirque macabre. And I’ve already bought my tickets to see it again. And again.

5K

Continue reading »]]> Gravity & Other Myths are a local group of alumni from Cirkidz who show audiences just what the human body is capable of. Accompanied by Elliot Zoerner on drums, the five featured performers (Lachlan Binns, Jascha Boyce, Jacob Randell, Martin Schreiber and Triton Tunis-Mitchell) throw themselves into each segment of the show with monumental energy and enthusiasm. What’s more, they look like they’re having a ball the whole time.

These guys aren’t just acrobats or gymnasts; they have a great stage presence and inject their show with a cheeky humour. In between impressive tumbles and unbelievable shows of strength, they have group challenges, reminiscent of school-yard games, at the end of which one member reigns triumphant as “best in show” or acknowledges their loss with a fun penalty. The majority of feats are carried off without a hitch, while the occasional slip up reminds you of the potential dangers of what you’re viewing and adds to the adrenaline rush.

It’s awe-inspiringly impressive to watch people who are so in control of their body. While other shows may rely on costumes, sets and tricks to create an atmosphere, the simplicity of the stage space on which this troupe works allows the talent of the performers to shine.  I don’t know how many expletives escaped my mouth during the show but it would have easily been in double figures and might have gone higher had I not been rendered literally speechless the rest of the time.

Kryztoff rating: 5K

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Up a flight of inconspicuous stairs lit with electric candles, down a seemingly endless prison-beige hallway resides The Birdcage, the most beautiful condemned cinema you will ever see.

Radiohead’s Creep fills the cavernous space. Pastel coloured metal folding chairs line the shallow stepped stairs, the shrieking scrapes as they are pulled out and shuffled around echo through the chamber, empty but for an enormous piece of spartan scaffolding, a bright red date-night dress dangling on a coat-hanger high high high up on the very top girder. A day bed covered in pillows sits in the middle of the otherwise empty stage and it seems far too small for something with a name like Tumble Circus for any kind of acrobatic tomfoolery…

The lights go out with a clunk and the dark is so encompassing that it seems solid and you instantly feel lost. Voices, once thick and Gaelic, the second acute and chirping; the stories of a boy from Belfast and a girl from Sweden who meet as teenagers and begin a life together as performers. The swirling mass of ghost voices snaps to the trans-continental couple screaming at each other, yelling at each other and yelling at us. They each tell half a story, two-halves that don’t so much line up like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle as they are crammed together, like odd pieces from the same puzzle, made to fit in that way that love so often does.

Thick dusty rope is scaled, and bodies dangle and twist in the air. People gasp, I gasp; the acrobatics seem so wild and dangerous, their faux-incompetence masking the thousands of hours working together, two bodies as one in perfect harmony. But we see that what cannot always work in harmony is two hearts, so passionate and emotional that they smash into each other in moments of rapture and anger, separate and all at once.

More pop music, The Breeders exploding through the space, the air electric. The pace is jarring, as sadness makes way for comedy, and the audience is literally romanced with roses and stunts. Pillows are thrown at the audience in good-humoured response to colourful audience participation and everyone wants it to just go on and on as is has been. But it must end, like all things.

An emotionally turbulent mess of hearts and bodies, Tumble Circus: This is what we do for a living is fantastic, terrifying, maddening, saddening, joyful, soulful and fucking funny. Go there, up the stairs, down the prison-beige corridor into the condemned cinema and see it, see it and then see it again, and again, and again.

Kryztoff Rating  4K

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Freefall is an acrobatic based show which, using sarcastic and awkward comic undertones, explores the subject of fear. From the instant the lights go up, the stage is a flurry of movement. The six performers move so quickly and so constantly that watching the show is similar to peering through a kaleidoscope, so beautiful but you simply don’t know where to look.

Winner of the Adelaide Fringe Best Circus (2010), the Tour Ready Award (2011), Melbourne Fringe Best Circus and Best Emerging Circus/Physical Theatre Performer Award (2011), Freefall is not a show to be missed.  The show is put on by Gravity and Other Myths and abrogates all expectations of comic acrobatics. The show is witty but not pompous, talented but not boastful, it’s a cute, astonishing look at fear and embarrassment.

The show begins dimly lit with quiet stirring music and a recording of people discussing their greatest fear and what it truly means to be afraid. From there the performers are bestirred into a cheerful acrobatic piece which makes the first few minutes seem obfuscated. The show orbits back into the serious aspects but overall there is a powerful milieu of light heartedness. Freefall can be bifurcated into an earnest perspective of fear and embarrassment and a spectacular gymnastic show.

All of the performers mix comedy into their pieces, but the limelight is stolen by the hilarious Tilly Cobham-Hervey who hosts the evening. However she does not engage in some of the performances the others enter into so voraciously. The show ends with an apotropaic feel, after having left you are filled with nothing but cheer and excitement.

Freefall is a truly astonishing performance from some of the most talented South Australians in the business. This is a show to skip dinner with a soul mate over, one of the greatest acts at this year’s fringe.

4.5K

Continue reading »]]> By Anthony Nguyen

Weaving in a mix of circus, comedy and romance, comes the whimsical story of A Circus Affair, produced by the Australian-based circus company, Circosis. A duo performance from lovable characters Mr Kiko (Andrew Cook) and Sarita (Sarah Mason), it tells the story of two aspiring performers who take on the world whilst finding that circus romance with each other.

The show is an example of silent circus with the storyline told through physical theatre. Additionally, the performers are accompanied by a projection screen providing additional videos and animations which also assisted in the storytelling process.

The video segments, which would serve as short breaks and times for costume changes for the performers, would somewhat seem less entertaining to watch on screen and would be much better received from the audience if performed live. Some slip-ups were made mid-performance (e.g. ball dropping), however both performers reacted well, incorporating it into the comedic aspects of the show which made the audience wonder whether the mistakes were done purposely as part of the routine.

Complete with highly-impressive circus acts including juggling, hoops, ball-balancing and acrobatics, the show provides great entertainment and fun for both kids and adults. The delightful pair will be sure to amaze you yet leave you laughing with a definite feel-good ending at the finale of the show.

A Circus Affair continues on for several more shows as part of the Adelaide Fringe at the Bakehouse Theatre on the 28^th of Feb, and the 1^st and 2^nd of March.

Kryztoff Rating: 3K