In an astonishing and delightfully absurd theatrical experience, Elf Lyons: Horses takes horsing around to a whole new level. With impressive physical theatre and mime, this innovative show imaginatively explores the world through the eyes of a horse, inviting the us to step outside the ordinary and embrace the whimsical nature of life as seen from a four-legged perspective. More importantly however, Lyons reminds us to embrace the playfulness we once enjoyed as children, grounding the performance in a touching and universal message.
A delightful gallop through the unexpected
Lyons delights us with a carousel of horse characters presented in different scenes which are compered by ‘Treacle’: the first horse character we meet and narrator of the show. Frank, curt and forthright, ‘Treacle’ takes no prisoners, and it’s these kind of unconventional choices make Lyons such an exciting performer to watch. This is so much more than a show of horse impersonations, with buckets of dark humour, Lyons plays with the disgusting and the angelic.
A master of clown, Lyons extensive use of mime recalls black and white films as she energetically but cleanly performs multiple characters in a single scene with no set or props to fall back on. This requires an immense amount of skill and creativity which, combined with the wacky storylines, creates an enthralling performance. The stories in the latter portion of the show predominantly take place on ‘Philly Fat Farm’, an imaginary farm dreamed up by Lyons as a child in which she shared many playful memories with her siblings. Indisposed with real audio footage of interviews with her family as they reminisce about their time spent playing with horses, the show merges clowning with real sentiment without ever insisting upon itself.
Throughout the show, you find yourself becoming strangely fond of the various characters in the show, which we become familiar with through Lyons’ clever use of recall. With no costume changes to differentiate between them, it is a wonder how she manages to pull this off.
Horses is an adventurous reminder of the power of imagination and the joy of unconventional storytelling in theatre. For those seeking a theatrical experience that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, this performance is a delightful gallop through the unexpected, firmly becoming one of my top picks of the Fringe so far.
