THE MIRROR – Gravity & Other Myths – Canberra Theatre
Directed by Darcy Grant – Associate Director: Jascha Boyce
Set and Lighting designed by Matt Adey – Associate Designer:
Lachlan Binns
Composer: Ekrem Eli Phoneix – Sound Design by Mik La Vague
Costumes designed by Renate Henschke
Performed by: Martin Schreiber, Simon McLure, Lisa
Goldsworthy, Lewis Rankin, Dylan Philips, Emily Gare, Jascha Boyce, Lachlan
Binns, Maya Tregonning, Ekrem Eli Phoenix.
Canberra Theatre 10 – 12 April 2025 – Reviewed by BILL
STEPHENS.
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| The cast of "The Mirror" |
Multi-award-winning Adelaide based physical theatre company, Gravity and Other Myths, has been touring the world, winning plaudits for the ingenuity, skill, and sheer virtuosity of its productions.
These Canberra performances are the last in its Australian tour
before it begins to hectically criss-cross the globe exciting audiences with
various of its productions in Korea, United Arab Emirates, USA, Canada, Germany,
and the UK.
In Canberra it is presenting “The Mirror” a physically and conceptually ambitious program addressing concepts of entertainment through the language of contemporary circus.
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| Ekrem Eli Phoenix and the cast of "The Mirror" |
The productions is centred around the talents of charismatic composer/singer/circus performer, Ekrem Eli Phoenix who enigmatically wanders through the proceedings engrossed in his own image and singing tantalising deconstructions of well-known songs. Among them are Gershwin’s Summertime and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, to which the other nine performers in the troupe constantly dazzle with feats of extraordinary physicality and strength.
The 80-minute performance is divided into sections and
presented without an interval or interruption, during which the company
explores physical movement that is likely to entertain contemporary audiences.
The first harkens back to the old-fashioned tableau, during
which the performers use an arrangement of black drapes to intrigue the
audience by revealing a succession of images of bodies arranged in remarkably
unlikely situations.
The introduction of a LED wall, a large decorative neon construction
to border the action, cameras and selfie sticks constantly dazzle and confuse
the eye, as bodies are piled upon and around each other to construct
surrealistic images.
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| The cast of "The Mirror" in action. |
Gender-blind acrobatics have the women bearing as much weight as the men for manoeuvres in which performers scramble over their colleagues to create human towers often four bodies high. Elsewhere colleagues are tossed around with such reckless abandon that, even though meticulously choreographed, the mesmerised audience is left gasping as to how injury could possibly have been avoided.
Costume designer Renate Henschke has eschewed the glitz and
glamour of familiar circus presentations in favour of minimalist, apparently
haphazard garments, with performers dressed individually, mostly in underwear,
often transparent, often revealing, but ideal for displaying the magnificent,
widely varying physiques of each performer, who unselfconsciously change elements
of their costumes in full view of the audience.
With “The Mirror”, Director Darcy Grant and his associate
Jascha Boyce have created an entertaining and gripping evening of world-class
acrobatics, presented with flair and imagination and performed with
irresistible joie de vivre and skill, that offers a series of surprising and intriguing ways with which to utilise the human body as a medium of entertainment.
Except where otherwise marked all images by Andy Phillipson.
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
