Circus 1903, Regent Theatre, Thursday January 12th 2017
For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre. I buy my own tickets. So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights. Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases. I write for my memories of what I have seen, and is more of a stream of consciousness.
"Circus 1903" was presented by Simon Painter and Tim Lawson for The Works Entertainment prior to a twenty week tour of the USA. This show world premiered in Canberra and then played Sydney prior to the short season in Melbourne.
Programmes were a great buy at $10. Maybe the price was reduced as the show was about to close in Melbourne. Either way theatre managements could learn from the Getty Museum concept of the entry fee encourages patrons to purchase other items such as food, gifts and souvenirs. This is the first show I have been to in a long time to see so many patrons buying a programme. It is a great quality programme with the history of the circus and the biographies of the performers and creative staff. What is lacking is the dates of the Australian tour in the programme from a historical perspective and the accurate name of the circus skills/acts. For example acrobatics is too general when describing some acts. The Flying Finns are accurately described for their Teeterboard skills/act.
"Circus 1903" has acts that would have appeared in 1903 as well as the side show scene which was reminiscent of the TV show "Carnivale".
The Welcome by the Ringmaster Willy Whipsnade played by David Williamson was terrific to ready the audience for the show. The popcorn antics were fun and allowed audience members to turn off their mobile phones in readiness for the show. David Williamson is one of the main reasons for the success of this show as he links the history of the circus and the training required without being didactic.
The cast are The Roustabouts who prepare the setting and the tent. We see behind the scenes antics. Maybe a clown should be included as the warm up.
The Flying Finns perform a lively seesaw act including tumbling and use buckets and sledge hammers to ensure the mood of 1903. A few slips here and there that could have been made theatrical for us to ooh and ahh and capture our engagement.
The Bold Balancing by The Sensational Sozonov was mesmerising but a little ho-hum for some of the audience. The ta-dah lady needed to rev the audience up more. His final 360 turn balancing on about 6 levels was terrific.
The Cycling Cyclone (Florian Blummel) was a ballet on wheels performed with such skill and daring. Again a bit more enticing and teasing the audience is required to engage more with the audience.
The segue to the contortionist was a side-show with lots of examples of the scams that you would see at the Royal Melbourne Show down side-show alley back in the 1960s. It was fun seeing the quick examples of the bearded lady and the man-eating-chicken. Fun and a little bit risque without being crude and dirty. This sequence was fun and was a great summary of the side-shows from "Carnivale".
The Elastic Dislocationist is a very agile performer. I hope she has not read Gary Jennings' book "Spangle"! She was exquisite in her performance in a beautiful and magical costume. Her routine was terrific, but needed to be more enticing and engaging and alluring with the audience. I know she has to warm up for an hour before each show as I have read articles to be informed. Her tricks are gut wrenching and stomach churning for the audience.
The Perilous Perigo with his knife throwing antics was full of danger and the entrance was terrific with his whip snapping. The build up to his final fire throwing trick was good but again lacked the engagement with the audience.
The Duo Flash displayed their balancing, strength and acrobatic skill. Again they needed to tease and engage with the audience more.
The segue to the Aerial Ballet showed Lucky Moon in her caravan preparing for her act. Ringmaster Willy Whipsnade told us about the commitment and the practise required without being preachy. The lighting and her entrance was beautiful. A great segue as her caravan was closed up as she entered the circus arena.
The Aerial Ballet by Lucky Moon was magical, beautiful and lyrical. Her act built up in difficulty and tension, though she could engage more with the audience as she returns to earth. Her act was more polished and stood up by itself.
The elephants were a highlight and there was a build up to their entrance. Queenie and the young elephant calf, Karanga are puppets by the same team who created "Warhorse". The elephants were magical with the superb technology and skill of the puppeteers that made them appear simpler than they actually were. The elephant puppets are brilliantly design and manipulated by the puppeteers.
The Act One Finale was in the style of an old fashioned circus and a good segue to Act Two.
The second half of the show works better than the first due to the acts and builds up to a crescendo by the artists.
The Grand Glorious Parade was lack lustre and could have at least paraded to the central aisle, made a cross over and returned to the stage.
Where Angels Fear to Tread, a ball balancing act by The Incredibles segued into the juggling act. Eight or nine large exercise balls were positioned in a semi circle to create a circus ring which was a subtle touch. A few drops of the spinning balls occurred, but done with such aplomb and skill the duo carried on. This duo finely balanced a difficult act with grace. As they were so far downstage and the act was mainly on floor level, it was difficult for some audience members to see the act. This act needed to be on a rostrum for all the audience to be able to see their full act. Here more engagement with the audience would not go astray, but I think it was mainly due to being so low on the stage.
The Juggling Juggernaut is The Great Gaston (Francois Borie) is the French juggler who really showed us what engagement with the audience was about. He was the first act to really lure, tease and engage with us. At last! He obtained requisite applause due to his skill, sequence of increasing difficulty but most importantly his ability to engage with the audience.
The Juggling Juggernaut is The Great Gaston (Francois Borie) is the French juggler who really showed us what engagement with the audience was about. He was the first act to really lure, tease and engage with us. At last! He obtained requisite applause due to his skill, sequence of increasing difficulty but most importantly his ability to engage with the audience.
The Icarian Acrobats by the Fratelli Rossi took engagement to the next level with the sex appeal and their teasing of the audience. Yes a slip up occurred and this is what we needed more of. We needed the old one, two, three and yes they did it. Yes it is cliched but I thought it would have been more included into more acts. These guys really captured the essence of involvement and made us sit up in our seats and hold our breath. At last we were transported back in time.
The Training of Wild Animals is one of the most poignant aspects of the show. Ringmaster Willy Whipsnade is brilliantly played by David Williamson. He asks for four young volunteers from the audience and is so terrific with the children. One child cannot be understood (maybe due to his young Australian accent) and David calls him Bowtie Bobby.
He introduces each child and gives them their moment in the spotlight. One child says she is six and a half years old. He wants someone who is seven and he asks her again. It is a terrific old fashioned routine that still works. We are laughing so hard and these children's parents and families must be bursting at the seams with how much they make the show work. David Williamson is such a fine professional and has us eating out of his hand with his sincerity. David Williamson does a USA dollar coin trick with each of the children and it is classical old fashioned fun.
David introduces a raccoon in a cage. It is puppet and he deftly handles it. He has one young lady engage with a card trick. It is so much fun watching the old fashioned manipulation.
One child gets a little flustered and David Williamson has a back up plan. The child receives an elephant balloon and the applause of the audience. It is done with such grace and dignity.
A replacement child appears and assumes the requisite position. The audience roar with laughter.
The routine goes awry. Maybe it is meant to. Who knows and who cares as it works. They would have worked out many versions of what to do under various circumstances. It is brilliant theatre.
Each child is given a thank you token of appreciation and the recognition with our applause and cheers.
One final young lady stands alone on stage expecting her token of appreciation. What is scripted here is absolutely magical and I had tears rolling down my face. I will not reveal it as it was my favourite part of the show. What he says and does is absolutely magnificent. It will not be forgotten as it is so special and beautiful. This moment was so honest, caring and heart warming in this over-produced technological age. Pure magic!
The High Wire routine by Los Lopez is a trio with two men walking the high wire and also on a jumping a skipping rope on the wire. The first bicycle fell and was collected by one of the Roustabouts. More needed to be done to engage with the audience when a fall or mistake occurred. This act has its build up finale but needed more engagement with the audience.
The Ringmaster Willy Whipsnade told us the show had ended. It was too abrupt an ending. The finale lacked pizzazz and the parade feel. Capes or some more dazzle was required rather than a line up of calling each act for their curtain call.
The transitions and segues between acts varied in complexity and use of distraction techniques. The lighting was well used to guide our eye. What was more interesting at times was watching the behind the scenes set up for the next scene. The stage hands should have been dressed in period costume to blend into the show more.
Costumes by Angela Aaron created an historic accurate version of the costumes with modern durable fabrics to last for rigorous wear and tear.
The choreography in the opening Building the Canvas City segment was the most choreographed section of the show. "King Kong" the musical had better choreography for this type of build up scene.
The acts were good but could have made themselves look even better with a bit more spit and polish and flair.
The best acts engaged with the audience in teasing us with their daredevil antics. Many people can see tricks on the internet and it is the engagement which really captured the spirit of 1903.
David Williamson is absolutely brilliant as the Ringmaster.
Overall I gave this performance of "Circus 1903" a 7.5/10.
Note: I am not going to compare the acts to other circus acts but I have worked with circus performers and saw their acts and the way they engaged with audiences.
