YOAH
★★★★★
YOAH was a circus show like no other.
Directed by Mizuke Shinigawa and Yusaku Mochizuki, with Tomoki Nishiyama as acrobatic director, it used diabolo, silks, trapeze and an aerialist to tell a fantasy story of a little girl lost in the underworld.
YOAH means “moon” and “hope” and is infused with Japanese aesthetics, which emphasised the use of “Ma” (pause) and “Yohaku” (blank space).
This emotionally charged show was infused with dark Gothic tension and made spectacular by state-of-the-art digital visual effects and stunning costumes that were a nod to Japanese warlords of the past and fantasy warlords of the future. The incredible soundtrack featured the sound of water, Taiko drums, classical music and futuristic techno beats.
There’s a loose narrative: a young dreamer called YOAH (Tsumugi Masui) finds herself lost in an underworld where she meets four sinister wizard/warlords in mysterious black garbs, who conjure magic with their diabolos.
YOAH performed a strange dance, moving with a jerky, supernatural movement that evokes the spirit world or afterlife (she reminded me of the girl in The Ring).
A stunning trapezist swung higher, higher, ever higher. He twisted and turned, nearly falling to his death and the audience gasped in terror.
The little girl became a magic spirit on the silks, performing an aerial dance of the underworld. The whole performance was infused with a sense of magic and danger.
YOAH evokes Studio Ghibli anime with its spooky characters, magic realism and creepy Japanese Gothic aesthetic. This show was for anyone who appreciates the mythic and the strange. This was a unique and powerful circus performance that pays tribute to Japanese horror and storytelling while also forging new ground with its spectacular music and special effects.
Read: Festival reviews: Edinburgh Festival Fringe, various venues
YOAH finished its run on 18 August at Underbelly Circus Hub.
Apricity
★★★★★
The meaning of the word “apricity” is as lovely as it sounds – the warmth of the sun as it breaks through the winter cold. Australian Circus troupe Casus Creations use it as a metaphor for the moments of joy, kindness and beauty that bring comfort to us when we are enduring a dark night of the soul. Their performance perfectly delivers the promise of its title.
This is the most aesthetically beautiful circus performance. Exquisite celestial composition evokes the song of angels, while the performers’ movement has all the grace, poise and strength of ballet dancers. In between extraordinary aerial and acrobatic performance some interesting performance art takes place. Performers lay out candles in glass jars around the stage and take turns walking on top of the jars from candle to candle – perhaps summing up the precariousness of human existence and the balancing act we perform in trying to stay afloat when we feel crushed by the pressures of our lives.
Particularly touching is an acrobatic routine between two men that is delicate and tender in its evocation of masculine love and connection. In fact, the entire show is performed with a sense of abiding love and connection between the performers and from the performers towards the audience. This is inspired, uplifting, exquisite contemporary circus about the transformative power of human connection.
Apricity will be performed at Assembly George Square Gardens until 25 August.
Afrique en Cirque
★★★★★
Where YOAH explores the Gothic, and Apricity explores love, Afrique en Cirque is all about joy. This mind-blowing circus performance created by Yamoussa Bangoura is inspired by daily life in Guinea and is set in a fish market. It features vibrant Afro-jazz, percussion and the kora – a beautiful 21-stringed guitar. The striking Bangoura enters, resplendent in traditional African dress. He welcomes us to the fish market, his world and his beloved kora. He begins to play and the show begins.
Out come four dancer/drummers in incredible costumes – their bright, dynamic colours a visual feast. The drumming is primal and urgent, with enough energy to raise the dead. A stunning goddess in hot pink enters, regally balanced on the shoulders of her partner, before balancing on his head and leaping off.
A contortionist walks backwards on his hands and feet like some kind of alien insect, then performs movement that doesn’t seem humanly possible, bending backward so his head is between his feet, then turning that movement into a dance, at one point, moving back and forth so quickly I could have sworn I saw his head above and below him at the same time.
Funk music plays. There’s a terrific routine where the fisherman catches what looks like a mythic sea creature in their net and, as always, that joyous, earthy dance we’ve come to associate with Africa. The finale, featuring extraordinary acts of balance and perfectly timed tumbling just about blows the roof off the theatre.
By the end the packed audience were on their feet dancing.
Afrique en Cirque is a stunning embodiment of the spirit of Africa, with its muscular beauty, vibrant colour, uplifting music and irrepressible, roof-raising joy. This is an unforgettable performance by a world-class act.
Afrique en Cirque will perform at the Main Hall Assembly Hall until 25 August
Ten Thousand Hours
★★★★★
We’re not up ourselves. We don’t take ourselves seriously. In Ten Thousand Hours we acknowledge that failure leads to progression.
Jacob Randall, co-founder of Gravity and Other Myths.
The “ten thousand-hour rule” was made popular by author Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, where he hypothesised that it takes that long a time to achieve mastery of a skill. Australian company Gravity and other Myths playfully investigates the stumbles, pitfalls and experimentation that are part of the process in pursuit of perfection. It uses dance, theatre, improvisation and, of course, outstanding acrobatics.
What is evident in this show – and a terrific message to society – is the permission to play. The permission to stumble and fall. The permission to get it wrong. In between accomplished, near perfect acts of physical prowess and balance, the performers poke a lot of fun at each with typical Australian irreverence and have a good laugh in the process.
Notable moments are Kevin Beverley’s improvisation, in which he performs his warm-up routine, in the style of whatever the audience shouts out, most hilariously to Shakira and Steve Irwin. Also, a version of Pictionary, where a stage crew draw pictures of stick figures in increasingly difficult poses and the ensemble try to recreate them, sometimes impressively, and sometimes disastrously, but always wildly funny.
Read: Festival review: It’s the Economy, Stupid!, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
This is a united troupe who work extremely well together and have implicit trust in each other. They are a smoothly oiled machine, achieving stunning acts of strength and balance, while always ready to catch each other if they fall. This was meta circus with a positive message about trying, failing, picking each other up and having a lot of fun along the way.
Ten Thousand Hours will be performed at the Main Hall, Assembly Hall until 25 August.
