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Ghost Light: Between Fall and Flight

 
Mark Harding Review by Mark Harding 3 Published: 7 Aug 2024 Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows Show Dates: 3 Aug 2024-24 Aug 2024

The two acrobats in this show must be from the future – ordinary humans cannot be so strong, hawk-eyed, and flexible, with senses of spatial orientation, balance and bravery so off the scale.

Somehow these men land like cats made of rubber

No effort has been spared on the soundtrack, lighting, costumes and surrounding props. Such clean and elegant staging can’t come cheap. Yet the core equipment used in the show is very simple. A single teeterboard – what you or I might call a see-saw.

I could not have imagined the amazing variety of tricks could be generated from a see-saw – and the gobsmacking (surely certifiably insane) heights the acrobats are prepared to bounce to. Add to this summersaults performed at the last possible moment before landing, and the anxiety-inducing way the acrobats often miss the see-saw and land directly on the ground. Even more bravely it is clear these ‘misses’ are frequently on purpose. Somehow these men land like cats made of rubber. I don’t know why they don't break their ankles, wrists and all the bones in between. Yet they simply roll on the floor with the elegance of a dancer and go into the next trick.

With such superhuman stamina on display it seems mean to carp but there was a section where the relationship between the characters played by the acrobats broke down for reasons I don’t understand and they separated, generating a hiatus in the action that seemed a little too long.

This one quibble aside, however, this is a show of astonishing tricks, awe-inspiring bravery and amazing athleticism.

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The Blurb:

Critically acclaimed Quebec City-based circus company, Machine de Cirque, present the award-winning Maxim Laurin (Guinness World Record holder) performing a spectacular duet with Guillaume Larouche on a spinning teeterboard, bringing you into the elusive world between fall and flight. Featuring a blend of breathtaking acrobatic feats and poignant choreography, Ghost Light takes a deep look into the synergy of two highly skilled performers. The teeterboard propels them toward each other in the euphoria of flight, accompanied by the levity of weightlessness and the fatality of the inevitable fall.