Fringe Festival 2007, Queens Wharf
March 1-10 | Reviewed by Justin Gregory

IT’S FAIR to say that you put up with a lot to watch outdoor performances in Wellington. The fact that such large numbers of Wellingtonians do venture out is damn near a miracle. But an even fairer thing to say is that you have to put up with even more to be an outdoor performer in this inclement city. Unpredictable gusts of wind, flying grit, equipment being disturbed and even parts of the set that tried to live up to the theme of the show and fly away – all these things occurred on the opening night of Fuse Productions Gravity and Other Myths, and what was truly miraculous was that they didn’t matter at all, and in no way distracted from what was an exciting night of circus arts.

The evening began curiously and appealingly, with an acoustic musical duo dressed as the crew of the Enterprise entertaining the crowd, followed by a women’s aerial group, who received a good cheer for their work. A ten minute break was announced while the main show set up. It’s not often that the preparations for a show are nearly as interesting as the show itself – and that being a good thing – but watching the performers check their equipment, warming-up, stretching, and doing impossible things with hula hoops, made me even more interested in what was to come.

And what came was worth the wait. Terrific trapeze, great contortion work, thrilling and beautiful tissue, and a fiery finale involving the whole cast. There was a general theme of space and the future running through the show, with a particularly amusing section on the fate of animals involved in the space race. One highlight for me was the work of one of the company on a swinging trapeze; along with the rest of the audience, I gasped as she threw herself from the bar at the peak of its swing.

This wasn’t a slick show, which I found refreshing. It wasn’t perfect; things that were hard to do looked like they were hard, and I appreciated that. The ability of the cast was unquestioned, as was their air of the exotic, their otherness, and their enjoyment. Like all good new circus, it had humour, drama, and good fun, it was a little bit sinister, a little bit silly and a little bit scary. I enjoyed it thoroughly.