Noir

Airealism attempt to mix circus and theatre to tell a tale of love gone wrong. Drawing their inspiration from film noir, they tip a cursory nod at narrative, using it as a lame excuse to show of a pretty standard range of aerial circus skills. Are they good at what they do? Definitely. But did they push boundaries and have the audience sitting on the edges of their seats, biting their fingernails? Not in the performance I saw. While there were no safety nets, and the performers could have fallen at any point if they put a foot wrong, it didn’t look unsafe. There was no sense of any danger. Ropes didn’t fray. Hoops didn’t come apart. The only departure from convention was to have the trapeze flying over the front row of the audience. It was effective but left anyone in the middle and back of the hall wanting more.People carrying umbrellas walk about barefoot to a soundtrack of rainfall. Characters give each other and the audience long, lingering stares. A red scarf is taken from one girl and given to another one. Jealously arises. But is that sufficient reason for someone to climb up a wall? Perhaps. It didn’t seem so – particularly when set to ‘Don’t Get Around Much Any More’. Even climbing up a wall can be considered ‘getting around’. More trapeze, hoop, rope and ribbon tricks follow.The wall (which is really a cargo net fastened to the back) is hooked to the backs of three performers who move up and down stage tied to it - why? Who knows. Maybe they were prisoners of love. The love story goes unimpressively sour, leaves one performer strung up – in more senses than one and the rest of the cast glaring impassively at the audience. I expect more from a cup of black coffee, let alone a show full of skilled performers which have come together to perform ‘Noir’.