Cirque Berserk!
Riverside Studios • 9th February - 12th March
It was with more than the usual amount of curiosity that I went to yesterdays press night given this was not going to be the usual play, musical or comedy show. Tonight I was going to the Circus! Actually, more than just a circus… this was promising to be Berserkus as Cirque Berserk!, Britain’s biggest theatre-circus, arrived at the Riverside Studios to celebrate their tenth anniversary with a five week residency, bringing their own special brand of traditional circus skills into a slightly less traditional theatrical setting. Without a ringmaster in sight, just how well this age old tradition would transfer from it’s usual big-top setting was an intriguing prospect in itself, not to mention how they would be fitting the shows ten high flying, fire juggling, knife throwing, motorbike riding acts from all over the world onto one stage. I couldn’t help wonder if they were being more than a little ’berserkus’ themselves for trying it, but as I took my seat, saw the impressive industrial set, and heard the traditional circus music play, (albeit treated in a way that made it sound more like a David Lynch production), I was more than ready to see how the evenings entertainment would unfold.
It can be all too easy, in this age of CGI and ever more sophisticated movie stunts, to become cynical about what circus has to offer, but Cirque Berserk! is here not only to remind us of the marvels the human body is capable of, (with a lot of practice, determination and agility… not to be tried at home kids!), but also that this is an unedited, live spectacle being performed without the security of a safety net or the luxury of a re-take! It has to be absolutely right on the night, and everyone from the Timbuktu Tumblers from Africa to the Khadgaa Troupe from Mongolia manage to wow the crowd with their meticulous timing and skilful execution. Luckily, ‘a skilful execution’ wasn't how the death defying knife/axe throwing act ended, and if you’ve never seen it live I’m here to tell you it is a truly adrenaline inducing spectacle… holding your breathe is unavoidable!
This was just one of the fourteen acts (and one giant robot) that took to the stage in quick rotation to dazzle, amaze and surprise the enthusiastic audience for the hour and forty minute show. All the traditional circus skills were on display, from acrobats and aerialists, to the much trailered Globe Of Death. The spherical steel lattice cage required for this multi-motorcycle hair raising stunt sat ominously in the background throughout, and whilst there’s no denying it was an impressive piece of circus furniture, I couldn’t help but feel the excitement it promised loomed a little too large over the acts that proceeded it. That it had to remain a part of the set for the whole show was clearly one of the compromises necessary in relocating a circus from a big-top to a theatre in Hammersmith. Surprisingly however, once the stunt had been performed, closing the first half of the show prior to the intermission, the second half became more enjoyable, no longer infused with the anticipation of an audience ‘waiting for the big one”. The Globe Of Death did make a return however, for what was an even bigger and better finale, the perfect way to end the show, coming as it did hot on the heals of one spectacular act after another.
The venue wasn’t the only departure away from the more traditional circus tropes, and whilst we might be used to seeing acrobats instead of animals these days, there were also no clowns to be seen, having been replaced by 3ft 6inc Paulo Dos Santos who, with the taller Whimmie Walker, (a circus clown for 48 years), take on the role of ‘janitors’ for this particular circus outing, and despite there not being a red nose in sight, they were still recognisable as the jesters on hand to provide the humorous interludes between the acts. Paulo’s repeated appearance seemed an attempt to give the proceedings some sort of theatrical narrative structure, albeit exceptionally slight, but we do get to watch him transcend from clumsy, likeable stooge in the first half to a genuinely incredible acrobat in the second, soaring high above the stage matching the scale and agility that had already impressed from the aerialists that had gone before.
Unfortunately, with a traditional circus being more typically seen in the round, the determination of Cirque Bersrek! to keep the action so strictly confined to a more linear stage did result in it feel a little less engaging, something that could have been easily rectified had some of the performers been able to periodically cross the line, maybe to make their entrance from the back of the auditorium, instead of the more conventional ‘stage left’ and ‘stage right’. For the same reason, to have made a nod to the on stage set design extending out into the auditorium could also have helped bring the audience just that little bit closer to the action, blurring the more formal theatrical lines between stage and setting.
All of that being said, Cirque Berserk! is a real treat for anyone who's forgotten, or never experienced the excitement of a live circus, and despite the comfort of its Riverside Studios surroundings, these jaw dropping acts will have you on the edge of your seat!
★★★★