Circus Abyssinia: Ethiopian Dreams @ Underbelly, 25/04/2018; a review.
I
must confess, I've come in and out of London so many
times over the years, and seen the enormous purple
Underbelly as I've gone through Waterloo and across the bridge into
Charing Cross...but I've never, ever actually been to the festival.
Well,
I can tick that box now. I went to see Circus Abyssinia: Ethiopian Dreams in
The Belly theatre yesterday evening, and all I can say is...WHAT!??
'Circus
Abyssinia: Ethiopian Dreams was inspired by our story,
and tells the tale of two little Ethiopian brothers (Little Bibi
and Little Bichu), whose dream of joining the circus is made real by
the Man in the Moon.
The
adventure truly begins when the brothers realise their dream is
a shared one: their journey is joined by a host of
high-flying, contorting figures, some enchanting,
others menacing – and at least one ridiculous! – but all of
them circus dreamers, whose feats of acrobatic daring call up a
world of rushing adventure that awakens the possibility of
a bona-fide Ethiopian circus!
The
show delves into the rhythms and roots of Ethiopia's rich musical
and artistic traditions to weave its story through
death-defying tricks, and feats of juggling, clowning and contortion,
all performed to the irresistible beats of Ethiopian song.'
(source: bibiandbichu.com)
(source: bibiandbichu.com)
This
show is honestly something else. From contortionists to jugglers to
tightrope walkers (kind of), it had everything you could want from a
circus, and was just the right level of... brilliantly, insanely,
wonderfully, worryingly shocking.
My personal favourite would have to be the men juggling brightly coloured bats. I was so transfixed on them the whole time; trying to work out if they were really spinning and throwing and balancing every bat, because it seemed impossible. Oh, but then I have to admit I was absolutely entranced by the contortionists, twisting and turning every which way. When the group of four flexible women got together and formed actual shapes as a group, climbing onto each other's backs and bellies and balancing their own bums on the backs of their heads...I mean, how!!??!
That was what Dez and
I were shouting into our hands, the whole way through: 'HOW!?', often followed by 'WHAT!?', 'Noooo!!', and 'oh god ohhh goddd'.
The way the company played with the audience was
excellent; several times throughout we were made to feel we were
seeing the best trick, reaching the climax and getting the biggest
shocks possible...and then they'd do something even bigger and
better!?
What
we actually loved most about the show, and were talking about for a
while after exiting The Belly, was how much the performers seemed to
enjoy themselves. Honestly, they were grinning and giggling the whole
way through, even when we thought maybe it would be best if they were
more serious (i.e. when they set up gigantic poles to climb and then
drop down at an alarming speed). The happy vibes we, the audience,
could feel coming at us from this more than competent and brilliantly
confident company throughout added to the overall spectacle and made
this show what it is: absolutely amazing.
(source: Underbelly Gallery)
Get
your tickets now, just £15 at From the Box Office!
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