A Simple Space
Festivals
A Simple Space is what the Adelaide Fringe is all about: courage, humour and skill, all rolled into one brilliant hour of acrobatic pleasure.
Local gymnastic group Gravity & Other Myths performs some hair-raising tricks, throwing each other around as if gravity really were a myth. But most importantly, they have fun doing it.
By opening A Simple Space with a session of skipping-rope stripping, the performers set the tone for the evening. It’s a playful and innovative space that they inhabit. The simple but effective lighting is controlled by the artists themselves, in constant flux. At one point they hand out colourful plastic balls to the audience and invite us to throw these back on stage, where a hand-stand competition is underway.
As much as I love the flawless, seemingly effortless performance of the Limbo crew, the kind of circus that A Simple Space exemplifies has something different to offer. It feels more real. You are close to the performers; you hear them breathe hard and you see them sweat. Occasionally, they make mistakes and try again. Most of the time, all seven perform, without wobbles, dangerous tricks with two or three people stacked on top of each other’s shoulders.
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All the individual performers are highly skilled and together they form a tight group where anyone can be trusted to catch or carry anyone else.
Compared to the group’s award winning Freefall last year, A Simple Space focuses less on telling a story and more on showing the audience how much fun and how much work circus performances really are. If you are after a Fringe experience that takes your breath away and then gives it back with a smile, A Simple Space is for you.
A Simple Space is being performed at The Panama Club, Royal Croquet Club (Victoria Square) until March 9.
Adelaide Fringe hub
Click here for all InDaily’s 2014 Adelaide Fringe stories and reviews.
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