Ahoy sailor! Have your days been feeling empty and meaningless since the Pirates of the Caribbean films dried out? Now you can board the Red Rubber Duckie pirate ship and feast your eyes on the Head First Acrobats, here with their swashbuckling and death-defying hour of good ol’ pirate mayhem. Arr We There Yet? is a raucous family show with the audience very much at the centre of the action.
Unlike Johnny Depp, these guys certainly do their own stunts.
From Melbourne, Australia, the Head First Acrobats are an award-winning circus troupe defined by their unique mix of old school slapstick comedy with new school acrobatics. The three scallywag pirates are Captain Snotty Steve aka Cal Harris, best known for juggling knives on a high ladder, Captain Skidmark aka Thomas Gorham, an all-around performer skilled at acrobatics, hand balancing and teeterboard, and Captain Rachel (named after a random audience member) aka Rowan Thomas, master of the roue cyr wheel. You may see why there is a problem here; too many captains spoil the coup.
The little pirates in the audience stayed wide-eyed throughout the show, busy whopping, cheering, screaming and arr-ing their way into finding buried treasure guarded by a playful shark. One eager audience member got to outsmart the shark and snatch the treasure – an experience he’ll treasure for some time. In addition to walking the plank, which doubled as a highflying teeterboard, a firm crowd favourite was steering the ship spinning upside down in the roue cyr wheel. Music was also cleverly incorporated into the act with your classic Benny Hill chase scene, ghost bashing with the Ghostbusters anthem and a storm magnified by AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.
Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the few franchises that have fully captivated both children and adults. The Head First Acrobats have studied the success formula well and then put their own daredevil spin on the genre. And it fits like an eyepatch. What’s more, unlike Johnny Depp, these guys certainly do their own stunts. Piracy suits the acrobats particularly well as they get to show their skills in head and hand balances, quick-fire tumbling, plank walking, hand standing on a tall ladder and the all-essential sword juggling. Even mopping the deck turns first into a passionate tango with the brooms and then swiftly to another high-flying acrobatics act. I tell you, they can come and clean my house anytime! And when the mighty treasure was finally revealed to the audience, everyone’s arrs turned into awws.
Just enough room for one final pirate joke. What is a pirate’s favourite letter? - P. It would be R, but it’s missing a leg.
