Fringe Review: Yoah

Japanese circus group Cirquework calls itself a contemporary circus and Yoah certainty deliveres, says Megan Amato.

★★★★

There is nothing like the anticipation of waiting for a circus to begin. What magic box full of wonders will they bring? What tricks do they have up their sequined sleeves? What story are they going to tell?

Call me simple, but I love a diabolo light show. And I use simple lightly as the agility and grace needed to perform is far more complicated than it looks.

Not only did the two performers excel at their chosen art form, bringing their audience an enchanting show of light but they did so with humour and visible joy. As I watched them juggle their diabolos, independently and together, I thought to myself ‘ah, so this is what it means to do what you love and excel at it’.

My acrophobia was confirmed once again by a trapezist on a swing. With every degree the swing rose higher, so too did my blood pressure. I felt my adrenaline rise and rise, their nonchalance at the height and velocity stealing my breath.

The music built this tension beautifully, the tempo and base increasing as he swung, flipped and twirled high up in the air at exhilarating speeds.

It’s hard not to be in awe of the beauty and strength of the aerialist who climbed up white silk with seeming ease, trusting herself and the material to catch her as she spirals down.

The aerialist’s story was central to the show as masked men in conical hats often closed in on her. She climbed up and down those silks with finesse and let go with confidence, falling with an ethereal grace that I could feel in my chest.

Earlier in the day I had watched an acrobat balancing on foam bricks on the Royal Mile. He was good. But Yoah’s acrobat was magnificent.

The puzzle of ensuring the right weight distribution is used in the game of chair Tetris is a skill on its own, to then balance on them higher and higher, often on one hand, is remarkable. And he made it seem so effortless that he should come with a warning ‘not to try this at home’.

Japanese circus group Cirquework calls itself a contemporary circus that combines ‘physicality’ with ‘visual effects’ and Yoah certainty delivered in bringing a circus that had each audience member’s attention riveted on the dazzling tour de force.

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows – Lafayette
Aug 15-18.

Read more Fringe Reviews here.

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