Edfringe 2010: Circus Trick Tease – Underbelly, E4 Cow Barn

Reviewer: Jeffrey Mayhew

The Public Reviews Rating:

These three performers – the charming, self-effacing Farhad Ahadi, the classic, false moustachioed strong man Shannon McGurgan and the redoubtable Malia Walsh (“It’s my circus!”) – really deliver.

First off I was not entirely sure about the framing device; we came in whilst the cast were having a bit of a set to, nothing seemed ready and muted chaos reigned. It seemed just a touch contrived and you couldn’t help but think that the show had better be good or this would all end in tears. Well it was good – superlative in fact – and this was (apart from their consummate individual and ensemble skills) because the framing device kicked in and we were treated to breathtaking circus turns made all the more extraordinary by being fumbled, clowned and undermined by squabbles and the torrid (very torrid – I won’t give the wonderful moment away!) exploitation of the two boys, one girl sexual dynamic.

Not only do they make difficult acrobatic and tumbling displays even more difficult with this anarchic, clowning approach they are also very funny. There is a sense of the old movie here – Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel and Hardy – pouting and passion, bitter asides, sulks and seduction, and we are the ones who are seduced in the end, as we are drawn into the emotional dynamic of this little circus in a way that we would never have been had the stunts been served up raw, as it were.

This is, without a doubt, a show to go and see and thoroughly enjoy – as did the ecstatic audience the night I went. If I don’t go into more detail about the acts themselves it is purely to allow you the pleasure of surprise on top of your delight in these folks’ brilliant skills and winning personalities.