Adelaide Fringe 2013

Another Point Of View

0 Comments 03 March 2013

Another Point of View

You walk off Arcade Lane and into a dim, yellow-lit hallway, lined with white birdcages and fairy lights. The Birdcage is the ‘circus hub’ for the Adelaide Fringe Festival and After Dark Theatre’s ‘Another Point of View’ is one of its featured shows.

It’s a story of two girls, friends, who go about their daily life in solitude until one day a phone rings and offers them a glimpse of the outside world.

This quirky, offbeat circus show won’t appeal to everyone, but it does have two elegant acrobatic performers.

On the small stage is an old suitcase and phone, a small basin with matching cups and toothbrushes, and a cardboard-covered television. An aerial hoop and sheet are hanging from the ceiling; hinting at the circus performance we are about to see.

Blackness. Then yellow lighting draws attention to the ringing phone. Out pops a hand from the suitcase followed by “Hello?” – the only word used throughout the fifty-minute performance.

As Annette Hanshaw’s ‘I Wanna Be Loved by You’ plays, two different sets of hands and legs come out from the suitcase, playfully patting it. Then two people emerge, wearing frilly petticoats.

These two friends have a way of doing things a little differently. Like brushing their teeth while bending over backwards or eating their cereal with their toes holding the spoon. They also love to watch talkies in between their acrobatic performances.

Together the girls are stunning on the aerial hoop, demonstrating both flexibility and amazing symmetry, matching each other with every twist and turn. At one point they are both upside down on the same hoop, with one hanging from the other, a feat which earns them a round of applause.

The highlight of the night is the performance on the tissu: circus speak for a suspended sheet. One of the girls twists and turns, using the material for support when suddenly she drops and holds her arms out, hanging in mid-air like an angel.

What’s great about this performance, acrobatic skills aside, is how the two friends connect with each other without even speaking. We feel their happiness, anger, and loneliness without them even uttering a word. Lighting is used well, drawing attention to certain moments in the play and highlighting the characters’ emotions.

The girls’ comical miming also makes this a great show for children who will appreciate their antics. The pace is slow in some moments of the performance, but the acrobatics keep the audience engaged.

‘Another Point of View’ is a peculiar and entertaining circus performance, best enjoyed in the company of friends.

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