Review: CIRCA: HUMANS 2.0, The Underbelly's Circus Hub On The Meadows

I enter the largest of the Underbelly's Circus Hub on the Meadows venues called The Lafayette, in awe that the 550-capacity venue has completely sold out. The stage is lit and the auditorium has been purpose built with a thrust stage, surrounded by the audience who are seated on three sides. The excitement in the air is palpable.

10 performers appear dressed in black sheer costumes. They gracefully tumble into five sets of performers upon each other's shoulders, walking in synchronicity. A striking image is created as the acrobats individually move in a circular motion, perfectly timed like the ticking of the second hand around a clock.

Such is the skill of their choreography that lines are created with disciplined precision. The action continues with an exploration of the body, where tricks are fast and furious, with no second wasted. The team work between them is glorious, where we see exquisite acro-balance, notably the back angel in various positions and aerial performed slowly, demonstrating the level of strength. The entire show is an homage to strength, a visual feast of wonder.

Circa's Humans 2.0 intends to address the following question: "Can we ever find a perfect balance, or is adapting to constant change the only way forward?" Circa may in fact be the only humans who can literally perfectly balance, I've seen the evidence. The question before us here is rather, what is the human body capable of? There do not appear to be any boundaries for Circa. Forget about Marvel, here's where you'll find the real superhumans.

Catch Circa: Humans 2.0, at the Underbelly's Circus Hub on the Meadows, The Lafayette on 9, 11-14, 16-21, 23-27 August 2022.

Photo Credit: Pedro Greig.

To post a comment, you must register and login.