Leo @ St George's West

Defying Gravity

Feature by Clare Sinclair | 26 Aug 2011

With the option for multimedia spectaculars, MP3-led performances and casts of decadent proportions, it’s a refreshing change to be brought back to basics. One man - Leo, one suitcase and a room turned on its side.

Leo (Tobias Wegner) succeeds in taking the principal rule of gravity and our perception of it and blowing it out of all proportion. As he lies down on the floor in the cutaway room, we see a man standing as the image is projected 90 degrees onto a wall.

Wegner’s movement – directed by Daniel Briere from German company Circle of Eleven – starts painstakingly simple. But even the act of standing upright displays the incredible strength of the performer, particularly in making it look like the most natural act in the world. As the story captivates further, the room warps into a place limited only by imagination as he flips, floats and glides up walls, culminating in a finale leaving no doubt about his acrobatic flair.

As performances become increasingly complex, there’s something pleasing about a show which uses technology in such a simple but spellbindingly effective manner. And although at times the brain reminds itself how the trick is being achieved, there are moments of brilliance when one truly forgets the trickery involved. This is a piece which lingers in the mind long after it’s done, leaving wide-eyed wonder and a smile.

Leo, St George's West, until 29 Aug 2011

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