Circus
Big Top
February 18

Perhaps this is just the Cirque de Soleil world we live in, but contemporary circus takes itself very seriously. Just to qualify, a circus act needs to amalgamate circus performance with elements of contemporary dance. Performers only wear black, and definitely never smile. Illuminate from Melbourne’s Madhouse Circus is an example of exactly this kind of circus in earnest.

Illuminate works around the idea of the importance of lighting to a circus act, and drives the point home pretty heavy-handedly through the use of half a Beacon Lighting store. A team of talented and very young circus performers uses an array of traditional and non-traditional props and equipment to create what is admittedly some gasp-worthy moments.

What lets Illuminate down is its need to be so serious. The performance takes place to a soundtrack of heavy dance music, and the performers, for the most part, don’t smile. The show is, understandably, a bit messy – mistakes are made and recovered from. When juggler Rowan Thomas takes several attempts to master his final juggle, well after the accompanying track has finished, the audience in the Big Top hollers and screams their encouragement. This is an audience with a sense of humour, and really not too fussed on technical perfection. Stop taking yourselves so seriously – nobody else does.

Illuminate runs until Sunday the 22nd of February. You can find tickets via the Fringe World Guide here.