A bleak and oppressive world of work gives way to playfulness, humour, and some intense acrobatics in this stylish take on a circus show.
Put together by Canadian troupe Cirque Eloize, it mixes computer-generated backdrops with live action across a range of classic acts, encompassing trapeze, cyr wheel, and plankine.
It’s debatable whether the loose storyline or video projections add or detract from the performances – I would rather see less fuss and a more overt use of lighting to bracket the artists – but the pieces themselves are breath-taking.
Anna Lewandowska’s cyr wheel pieces are hypnotic in their grace and simplicity, and Matthew James Brown and Isaac Salter’s energetic two-hander on the Chinese pole generated gasps matched only by the winces at Klaudyna Dabkiewicz’s double-jointed contortion.
The standout piece though was Dominique Bouchard’s romantic entanglement with a dress on a coat rack, run through with humour and charming physical comedy.
This is a characterful and fun show, bursting with ideas and beautifully choreographed, that deserved drew applause from an audience of all ages.
