Nocturnal Wenchy

Cirque Éloize – iD

I took a long time to consider where to even begin writing a review of what is ostensibly a production that can blow one’s mind at so many levels. I was so thoroughly entertained from curtain up to curtain down. Let me start with a great big kudos to Jeannot Painchaud as director and so to the team that made this production happen.

Imagine, if you will an opening scene that reflects the hustle, bustle and sound of a living city, with its maddening rush, the passing of people, strangers in a crowd, pacing, with purpose, the frenetic roar of traffic and sirens.  The urban air is filled hints of menace and adrenaline.

The sounds and movement morph with the passage of time becoming the pulse of the city. That heartbeat becomes the rhythm of an active, thronging, throbbing, metropolis. The musical accompaniment throughout the production is par excellence.

What follows is a sumptuous visual and aural feast that leaves one breathless and spellbound.

You are given an up close and personal view of the culture of dance on the streets. It is an examination of its raw beauty and competitive nature. Truly it is athletic, graceful and forceful. What starts as a street fight becomes a dance off to win the affections of a woman.

Understand though this was no dance extravaganza but so much more.

The feats of gymnastic strength and skill on the planks and suspended at death-defying heights above stage, were to say the least positively mesmerizing. This is not the stuff of a fading circus tent. This is poetry in motion. The viewer gets to study the glory of both the male and female physique as sculptural form.

In my time I have seen a few trick cyclists. The cyclist on stage was something to behold. I was left alternately gasping and holding my breath. He executed a perfect display of skill, strength, confidence and balance.  Cringe worthy for an audience participant perhaps, who felt they are risking life and a euphemistic limb as party to the display. It had the male audience members instinctively wanting to protect more intimate parts. You have to see it to understand. An added bonus, the selected audience member on opening night was our much-loved local celebrity Alex Jay.

The show was filled with breathless energy.  A trampoline act to have you bounce in amazement. Try to imagine acts of skipping, juggling and hoops on steroids.

It was the first time I have seen a Chinese Pole Gymnast in live action. No web video comes close to reflecting just how remarkable the discipline is.

I have not even begun to mention just how much the spectacular lighting, staging and projected backdrops add to an already amazing show.  It made for a multidimensional masterpiece.

My first thought leaving the theater was that it was an incredible, not to be missed and unforgettable production. On reflection after the fact I feel even more so. It is truly worth every cent of the admission price.

@Brian_Trudgeon A forty something IT Geek, want to be great artist. Quirky, Queer, proud father to three with a humanitarian bent. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I have always enjoyed writing and have been published anonymously and otherwise. I can claim to be an accidentally published photographer. In my spare time I like to sketch or write the occasional piece of poetry. Born in me is a great love for live performance of any kind and I have great admiration for anyone who offers themselves up on an altar that is the stage.