BWW Reviews: WUNDERKAMMER Thrilled With Their Circus For The New Century

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Wednesday 1st October 2014

Queensland based circus company, Circa, have brought their highly acclaimed production, Wunderkammer, to Adelaide. For them, this is a comparatively very short trip, having travelled to around thirty countries already, including appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe. The title translates literally as 'wonder chamber' but more usually is taken to mean 'cabinet of curiosities', and referred originally to a room filled with assorted items of interest, collected for display by their owners, generally royalty and the upper classes, or rich merchants. These date back as far as the 16th Century. Circa say that this show is a blend of circus, cabaret, and vaudeville, and that is an understatement. The performers, their individual and collective skills, and the range of feats that they perform are the 'curiosities' in this 'cabinet' that we call Her Majesty's Theatre.

For a while, when circuses were divesting themselves of the many performing animal acts, it was suggested that this could signal the end of the genre. It proved to be a wrong diagnosis, as circuses reinvented themselves, expanding on existing routines and creating new ones, as well as adding elements from other areas of the performing arts. That is what we see, here, in this Circa production, fresh and innovative circus at its best.

The overall scheme of the production was created by their director, Yaron Lifschitz, with the members of the ensemble contributing their ideas, based around their specialist skills, to each of the many segments. These range from solo to full ensemble performances, and cover a vast range of traditional and inventive new acts, beginning with a new take on the hula hoop, from Jessica Connell, which seems to combine with the linking rings illusion performed by magicians, as her very stylish and clever routine makes the hoop appear as though it passes through her body, time and again.

We have all seen a man balance a woman standing on his shoulders, but three on his shoulders and two more hanging off of his arms is quite a feat, and just one of many. Sexual equality is embraced in this group and women take their turns at the bottom of these balancing acts, as well. For added difficulty, they perform many feats in slow motion, so that they rely on great strength to lift one another, rather than taking advantage of the momentum generated when these acts are done at speed.

Burlesque is embraced through the costuming, designed by Libby McDonnel, in black and red, from the underwear upwards. Striptease, a popular part of Burlesque, turns up here, but not in the easy version. No, here it involves such techniques as stripping while performing on a trapeze. Don't worry, though, there is no nudity, and there were numerous children in the audience on opening night.

There is comedy aplenty, some a little dark, some a little bizarrely offbeat, involving balloons, some just plain hilarious, like the tap dance routine on a sheet of bubble wrap. Like any of the acts that I have only briefly outlined, these all have to be seen to be fully appreciated.

The members of the ensemble are also actors, and characters continually emerge, interact, and vanish again, to be replaced by others. A lot of the work is as much dance as circus feats, adding an extra level of beauty to the performances. There are quite a few very dangerous feats, too, as people are swung wildly and tossed across the stage for others to catch.

Nathan Boyle, Jessica Connell, Gerramy Marsden, Daniel O'Brien, Brittannie Portelli, Kimberley Rossi, and Duncan West constantly amaze with their flexibility, strength, and versatility. On a bare stage, with simple but elegant lighting by Jason Organ, and with an incredibly eclectic range of music, the focus is all on the performers.

The audience showed their appreciation by calling the seven performers back a good many times for extra bows, which they richly deserved. Circa are only here until the weekend so book quickly.

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