Lost in Translation

Pas Perdus(lost steps), offers an hour of  “theatre, tenderness, and carpentry” by Belgian company Les Argonautes.

It is a mostly monochrome, non-verbal romp through space and time with a quartet of able-bodied circus performers/musicians and varying sizes of pieces of wood. The images are pretty in this example of nouveau cirque and there is definitely a lot of skill on show.

However, the show could be shorter. There are some lovely moments when the piece could have ended but the the temptation to carry on wasn`t resisted. The universe isn't very clear, either. Are we in a mental health institution or a Tibetan monastery with some monks who are desperately trying to keep it under control? Although this is circus with a difference, it lacks the substance to unite its disparate parts and often seems to be merely a vehicle for showing off the performers' skills.

I suppose the whole experience left me a bit restless, what with its naiveté and meandering nature. I would recommend it to families looking for a fun day out with the kids but for me, my steps following this romp were rather, well, “perdus”.