In the tiny world of contemporary circuses it is rare to catch one as big, fat and juicy as this at a theatre near you. The crowd at the luxurious Wales Millennium Centre was purring with anticipation as the curtain went up on an expectedlyurban landscape of flats and boxes, seedy street-lampesque lighting, graffiti, video projections, shadows, city noises. It’s not a new idea: ‘urban’ has been à la mode in contemporary circus for several years – it wasn’t even new when iDwas first shown in 2009. But Eloize do it with style, with confidence, striking exactly the right balance between slick and rough-around-the-edges.
Have you ever seen a body popper battle with an inline skater? You’re curious though, right? The show starts by establishing a vague Montagues-and-Capulets style situation, prompting daring displays of skill, breakdance battles, slights perceived and gauntlets thrown down. A feeling of identities is built up through solo and group acts, of battles won and lost, of partnerships built. Allurban ones, mind. The narrative doesn’t extend any further than this, which doesn’t really matter, though it does feel an opportunity was missed here.
The star of the show was a natural-born-contortionist so bendy and graceful that on the rare occasion you caught her stood up straight you had that uncanny feeling you get when presented unexpectedly with someone upside down. She danced with an insectoid flow, pattering her legs around her head like cartoon antennae. Her love duet with a windmilling breakdancer presented some striking symmetries and was a complete, fresh-tasting surprise.
The whole-company numbers (such as an acrobatic jumprope piece) weren’t, on the whole, as well done as the specialist acts – but an exception was the crazy, energetic finale of trampoline tricks against whizz video projections. Using ledges above the trampoline to land on, it had the feel of a skateboard halfpipe – the artists seemed almost to be running up the walls and landing at the top, without the use of harnesses. When video projections made the ‘walls’ appear to move and change shape, the effect was confusing, exhilarating, impressive.
An exuberant, well-balanced show of high skills and some new ideas, with the sort of room for improvement that keeps the conversation flowing long after the show’s over.