Some circus shows start with relatively simple tricks and work up to their big finish, saving the impressive stuff for last. Brisbane’s Circa are so confident in the breadth of their skills and invention that right off the bat they bring out a guy who can hold the weight of six other people all balanced in a tower on top of him. It’s quite an opening statement.
Edinburgh fringe is awash with acrobatics and there are plenty of people trying to do what Circa do – stylish circus with choreographic sensibility; athletic and atmospheric – but this troupe has been at it for 20 years and director Yaron Lifschitz has really got it down.
Wolf is a very entertaining hour that embraces animal instincts. It’s down with politeness, up with prowling, snarling, shows of sheer strength and seriously sexy posturing (complete with red lipstick). Designer Libby McDonnell’s sleek costumes in fawn and black stripes make their own optical effects, too.
There might be a touch of the feral, but this show is also super-slick. Bodies fly, hurl, flip, swing, teeter, strain and splat (deliberately) flat on the floor. They toss each other across the stage, from one human tower to another, and test gravity’s limits in shape-shifting balances of three, four, five, six people. The fluid interactions are well drilled but still utterly live in the moment.
Some highlights: the woman who balances two men on her shoulders – take that, gender norms! A funny set piece with two men in a tight embrace thwarting other performers’ increasingly desperate attempts to infiltrate their hug. And the edgy energy of an aerial straps routine where the performer is like a trapped insect, spiky limbs attacking or struggling to get free, rather than the usual silken grace you get from aerialists.
There’s no great message here, bar “Look at how awesome these performers are”. They are enjoying every minute, and displaying human instincts as much as animal ones. The charged atmosphere plateaus a little way before the end – a more expansive soundtrack could have helped with the arc – but Circa show they are the masters at what they do.
• At Underbelly Circus Hub on the Meadows, Edinburgh, until 23 August
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