Aaron Twitchen combines aerial circus performance with stand-up comedy. This is an interesting mix and the choppy nature of the entire show keeps the audience on their toes.
He is in a rare position and could go very far
At first, Twitchen talks about his friends, gossiping in a manner which relies on gay clichés that do not add anything, but reinforce negative stereotypes. I did not find this material original and found his tone shrill, again unnecessarily reinforcing stereotypes. The tone became rather jarring given how long it was sustained for.
This is disappointing, as the show improved substantially when Twitchen revealed his true self towards the end of the performance. The pain of rejection became very real and this was great to see. Gay men often joke about their promiscuous lifestyle and use camp culture to hide the pain which their sexuality brings to some. This is very much what Twitchen does and manages to really explore feelings of rejection and isolation. After a very superficial introduction, this is brilliantly executed.
The show is interspersed with very aerobic and beautifully-performed silks routines. Despite Twitchen’s jokes about not being professional, he is a master of the silks. Watching him perform is stunning. This performance managed to show many parts of his life and his comedy routine showed some of the funnier, lighter moments while his pain and anger was very visible with the silks. This range of emotions is fantastic to see and made a really varied show.
Twitchen should carry on with his heavier material, and scrap the unoriginal stand-up. He is in a rare position and could go very far. By combining some of the sadness, which he articulates very well on the mic, with his fantastic circus skills on the silks, he could really shed light on some of the darker experiences of gay culture.
