Illuminate
Reviewed by Sarah Gates
Five performers, an intimate space and dozens of ingenious uses of light; Illuminate is an exploration of the dramatic tension, creativity and fun produced by limiting the visual elements of a performance.
Illuminate, presented by Madhouse Circus, begins as the audience enters the Royal Croquet Club’s new venue, Ukiyo; a ‘tent’ so small and fragile in appearance that it looks to be made from balsa wood. The performers make interesting use of the space; stretching, juggling, and playing with a dresser outlined with light bulbs. This segues into the characters fighting for use of the ‘mirror’ as the lights go down. Their unique personalities shine through, which will go on to define the nature of each act.
The next segment is the audience’s chance to use flash photography, because “it would be a travesty to hide these bodies from the world”. With much laughter, the audience lends flashes of light to create a strobe-like sequence of exaggerated modelling of the performers’ physiques. For the rest of the show, the cameras and phones are placed firmly in bags and pockets, but many of the acts evoke the same sense of youthful joy and unadulterated fun.
Many of the inventive lighting effects are produced by the performers themselves. Dressed in black, the plain costumes allow them to blend into the background and the edges of the stage. In one section, two artists use torchlight to illuminate a floor routine. Light bulbs on poles provide a better lit stage for a playful acrobatics routine using a wheel chair, showing how innovative this troupe can be.
There are also unexpected and unorthodox uses of light, like small globes in bottles, over which one character walks on tiptoe. In, another memorable act: two performers dance, regretful and nostalgic, to the song Friend is a Four Letter Word, their bodies wrapped in string lights; leaving the audience wondering how the twists and lifts are accomplished without tripping over the cord.
There is a ‘white board’ of sorts where one’s writing lights up like a neon sign. A juggling sequence is made more exciting by a jacket outlined by a thin strip of light and batons so fluorescent that they look like glow sticks. The young performers even incorporate corde lisse, acrobatics on a vertically hanging rope, with torches strapped to their arms and legs. It is romantic and beautiful.
Every segment of the show folds neatly into the next, with carefully selected music providing the right tone for each piece. Each scene is creative, showcasing the skills and intelligence of Madhouse Circus. Proving themselves to be versatile performers, they are able to make an audience laugh as well as captivate them with more poignant acts.
Illuminate is more entertaining, moving, and impressive than many of the big circus and physical theatre headliners for the 2014 Adelaide Fringe. It ignites in its audience joy and amazement. It is not to be missed.
