Most shows put on at the theatre tell a story. Straight plays, musicals, ballet, opera, they all have a story to tell that needs to translate from the stage to the waiting audience sitting in the auditorium. Some shows however, are not expected to have much of a narrative to communicate and are there for pure entertainment. So, what happens when a non-story telling piece of theatre decides to do something different and give their audience something to follow as they perform? Well you can find out with a visit to Cirkus Cirkor: Limitswhich I caught at the Royal Festival Hall.
Limits is conceived and directed by Tilde Björfors and sets out to imagine a world without borders and mixes music, movement and acrobatics to tell the story of movement both voluntary and especially forced. In with the physical, there are projections telling the audience the awful figures of people forced to move by other’s actions such as war and invasion. There are also voiceovers of migrants telling their story of fleeing their respective country.
However, this is primarily an acrobatic show and the various performers – Saara Ahola (Acrobatics, aerial acrobatic and vocals), Anton Graaf (Acrobatics and teeterboard), Einar Kling-Odencrants (Acrobatics and teeterboard), Sarah Lett (Acrobatics and roue cyr), Peter Åberg (Acrobatics, juggling and vocals) – put on a first rate show. Along with music composed and performed by Samuel ‘Looptok’ Andersson, the show consists of various set pieces around a particular piece of equipment.
Highlights for me included: the roue cyr – quite amazing and beautiful to watch, the juggling – which was fast and musical in a quite unique way – trampolining, and the teeter board – which brought back so many memories of playing with my dad’s Atari as a kid – but was quite amazing with the height reached by the two acrobats as they shot each other off the board. However, I did feel that there was an issue with time. Most shows of this kind would run for about an hour but, in this case, the running time was roughly 130 minutes with a 25-minute interval. Some of the scenes seemed a bit drawn out and, at times I felt that, for a family show, it was a bit slow. There were occasions when children could be heard asking what was happening which is never a good sign.
Tilde Björfors was responsible for the concept and direction and along with Olle Strandberg’s choreography, a set designed by Fanny Senocq, Stefan ”Drake” Karlström, Joel Jedström, Tilde Björfors and Jonna Bergelin’s costumes the team have put together a beautiful show that looks spectacular.
To sum up the show, whilst I thought it was superb from a technical and visual point of view, I had real trouble connecting with the ‘message’. I understand the real concern that the company had for the migrant cause but, for me at least, I’m afraid a rather hectoring storyline combined with superb acrobatics just didn’t make for fine bedfellows. The narrative made me feel uncomfortable and possibly that was the intention of the Cirkus Cirkor team, but I do think it was overdone. The Rubik’s Cube scene was amazing but for me the enjoyment was marred by the way Peter Åberg’s vocal accompaniment slid from warm and jolly to cold and depressing. However, I could be in a minority and certainly, going by the number of people who gave the performers a standing ovation at the end, a lot of the audience seemed to really enjoy the combination of story and acrobatics.
Overall then, Cirkus Cirkor: Limits is a visually and technically superb performance. Unfortunately, the show in its entirety just didn’t quite work for me.
Dawid Minnar Janine Ulfane – Photograher credit Alixandra Fazzina. “Survival of the fittest” is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. Which means that even in the most inhospitable of placers, life will find a way – even if at times, you may look and think what’s the point? For example, in South Africa, the aloe plant is considered one of the country’s most powerful, beautiful and celebratory symbols. It survives out in the wild when everything else is dried. At the end of everything, the aloe is still there. And it is this survival that is at the heart of Athol Fugard’s A Lesson From Aloes which has returned to the UK and is currently in residence at the Finborough Theatre. Set in South Africa in 1963, where apartheid is at its height and the citizens are living in a paranoid police state. The play revolves around a middle-aged left-leaning couple – Afrikaner Piet Bezuidenhout (Dawid Minnaa...
Since 1912, the Blackburn Musical Theatre Company has been entertaining the theatre going folks of this Lancashire town with their annual musical production. In that time, they have covered the vast array of musical theatre from their first production - Sunday - through to their latest - Hello Dolly - which I caught at the Blackburn Empire Theatre. Dolly Gallagher Levi (Sue Chadwick) is a woman that likes to meddle, or as she puts it, arrange things. Whatever you need doing, Dolly is the person for the job. And right now, she is the talk of turn of the century New York, having brought together Mr Horace Vandergelder (Kris Wlodarczyk), the well-known half-a-millionaire and Mrs Irene Molloy (Laura Mitchell) a widowed millener. Their engagement and subsequent marriage seems pretty much sewn up though neither is marrying for love. Horace, as he tells his Chief Clerk, Cornelius Hackl (Ryan Coe), and Assistant, Barnaby Tucker (Fletcher Illingworth), is looking fo...
Since July 2014, I've seen and reviewed 588 shows altogether. 2017 was a fairly quiet year with a total of 132 shows visited by yours truly. So, in the best traditions of end of the year ideas, here is my list of the top 10 shows that I've seen this year. Please remember, this is my list not anybody else's and if you don't agree with the pick, well, what can I say? 1. Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bridewell Theatre This story of friendship and hope took two drag queens and a trans woman from Sydney to Alice Springs, in a big pink bus. Along the way, the met new friends and face rampant homophobia. SEDOS brought every element of the show together beautifully, and to a standard that you would expect to see in the West End. Sold out virtually as soon as it was announced, this was the ‘must see production of the year. 2. La Cage aux Folles, New Wimbledon Theatre This is was a touring production of a show that demonstrates the importance of family a...
Comments
Post a Comment