Fringe Theatre Reviews: Circus & Physical Theatre
Clever stunts and big special effects alone don’t make for a rewarding experience – the most successful shows are instead driven by ideas and concepts. Traces [★★★☆☆], the bombastic large-scale production from Montréal-based company Les 7 Doigts de la Main has a tendancy to prioritise spectacle, sometimes leaving substance as an afterthought.
On a technical level, Traces is nothing short of astounding. Eight performers deliver a high-energy spectacle of death-defying acrobatics, incorporating all manner of props from hoops and trapeze to roller skates and an armchair in undoubtedly captivating and original routines. This combined with dazzling lighting and thumping tunes ensures that there’s no shortage of drama in the show, but it lacks any coherent structure or unifying theme. As a result the performance feels disjointed, showcasing impressive physical feats but with half-hearted attempts at establishing characters and narratives that only make the direction of the show more confusing. The performers introduce elements of playful physical comedy that work well in isolation, but have no clear or consistent role within the production as a whole.
Close Up [★★★☆☆], from Australian company Circa, offers equally impressive feats of acrobatics, but uses a more minimal approach, scaling down the showstopping effects and placing more focus on developing its central theme: the physicality and mentality of circus as an art form, with specific emphasis on the sensory experience. Multimedia is incorporated seamlessly into the routines, with the backdrop of a cinema screen displaying surreal footage of contorting bodies, and along with a transfixing electronic score the routines are immersive and compelling.
The attempts at breaking the fourth wall are unfortunately less effective. Dreamy acrobatic sequences get cut off mid-flow for the performers to chat informally to the audience about themselves, their training and the intricacies of the moves they are performing. While this deconstructive element is interesting in itself, it’s stretched to the point where it starts to detract from the magic rather than adding to it, which is frustrating for the audience.
One of the more unconventional shows on offer is 4x4 Ephemeral Architectures [★★★★☆] from the Gandini Juggling School. This collaboration between four ballet dancers and four jugglers pushes the boundaries of dance and circus choreography, and illustrates how the strength of an idea, however wacky, can create a deeply mesmerising theatrical experience. Set to a gorgeous contemporary classical score, the show integrates juggling and dance into impossibly complex routines, with a specific (though slightly overwrought) focus on the intricate patterns that hold it all together.
The show’s playful but thought-provoking examination of the punishing process of honing a skill to such levels of precision adds depth to its technical excellence. It remains visually stunning while managing to avoid being self-serious, and this makes its intellectual approach to patterns and movement sincere and convincing.
Barely Methodical Troupe offer something refreshingly different again with Bromance [★★★★☆]. Three guys with minimal props combine breath-taking stunts, boundless charm and top-class showmanship to deliver a perfect encapsulation of the everyday awkwardness and unexpected tenderness of male friendship. The light-hearted humour of the show is irresistible, but it functions equally well as a deeper reflection on the nature of masculinity – using physical comedy to magnify and parody the unspoken social codes that can make life as a young man absurd and confusing.
Bromance abounds with personality. The strength of the characterisation, which is simple but genuine, makes the action flow easily. Some of the filler sketches drag on a little too long, but there can be no denying the comedic flair of all three performers, making Bromance a top pick for fans of circus and comedy alike.
Traces, Assembly Hall, 'til 31 Aug (not 17th or 24th), 6pm £15/£14
Circa: Close Up, Underbelly George Square, 'til 31 Aug (not 18th or 25th), 8pm, £17/£16
Gandini Juggling School: 4x4 Ephemeral Architectures, Assembly George Square, 'til 30 Aug (not 18th or 25th), 5:30pm £16/£14
Bromance, Underbelly Circus Hub, 'til 29th Aug (not 17th or 24th), 6:25pm £14/£13