The young, fit, highly trained human body is capable of astonishing things.
Circa is a very exciting Brisbane based company. HUMANS asks what it means to be human. How much weight do we carry? Who can we trust to support our load? It leads us to reflect on our lives, our loved ones, the burdens we carry and the physical and emotional strength it takes to overcome them.
Directed and created by Yaron Lifschitz, HUMANS, performed in the round at the Spaghetti Circus Big Top is a breathtaking combination of acrobatics, contortionism , tumbling, balancing, aerial trapeze, handstands and back flips.
Contact improvistaion, pyramid building, banquine and risley, and hand-to -hand partnering are also featured and strikingly blended with elements of contemporary dance.
At times the audience audibly gasps. There is no real narrative, rather a fluid sequence of various dazzling and surprising interactions combining various finely honed circus skills.
There is much use of haze and the lighting is delicately, warmly vibrant and atmospheric.
The scintillating cast of ten wear a uniform of autumn/russet coloured shorts/leotards and a semi -transparent black top. They wear ankle and/or wrist supports .Some have tattoos,
At the beginning the cast wear casual street clothes and have fun rolling acrobatically twisting in and out of them.
There is a fiercely tender and intimate sense of trust between the cast – some of the lifts, drops, throws ,twists and catches, let alone the pyramid balancing, are extraordinary.
HUMANS is full of hot and sweaty bodies in explosive, movement , leaping, twisting ,twirling jumping, somersaulting ,precariously balancing , intimately entwined , swooping and swinging from a trapeze , dragged by the hair, sliding across the stage and forming sculptural poses,
One hilarious sequence that had the audience in rapture was where the cast twisted and bent in almost impossible shapes attempting to lick their elbow. Floating balancing lifts in other sections are contrasted with this A breath, a clap, a bend of the knee, a beautifully flexed and pointed foot or extended arm are all important .
With astonishing strength, grace, agility and integrity, each moment is seamlessly connected.
The relentless, pulsating soundscape varied from an assortment of popular songs to music theatre standards to techno thump to the sound of a single clap..
The almost hysterical standing ovation at the end was richly deserved.
Running time – 80 minutes without interval.
HUMANS, presented by Circa, is playing atat the Spaghetti Circus Big Top, Prince Alfred Square Parramatta up until 19th January.
