Circus is inherently exciting to watch – the whole point of it is to see human bodies interact with the world in a way you didn’t think was possible. What makes it even more exciting is the introduction of custom equipment, where the rules and limits are unknown and left to be dictated and discovered by the performer. You can imagine, then the palpable potential when the entire stage is that custom equipment, as it is in Staged by Circumfrence.
Circumfrence took an admirable risk with Staged
Though you walk in to a slightly edgy image of three performers in their skivvies – two women lying on a floating platform with a man standing on one of their heads – the scene lightens almost immediately as the performers dress in bright colours and reveal the central device of the show. The platform they’re on, about half the size of the considerable stage in ZOO Southside’s Main Hall, tips under their weight. All four corners are free moving and rigged just high enough that if all the weight is on one corner, it will nearly hit the floor.
The acrobatics are beautiful and impressive, made more so by the narrow margin of error. One bad landing could tip all three off the platform, as some of the choreography demonstrates. The highlight was a character-driven segment as the two women are launched onto and fall off of the platform, meeting and parting over and over again while keeping the floor flat beneath them. Much of the show consists of less narrative work – acrobatic feats that are impressive on the group take on new stakes when the group beneath them is deliberately unstable, and Circumfrence don’t shy away from that risk. The gender balance of the show – more women than men – was also very refreshing.
There is a twist to Staged, which dramatically changes the meaning of everything that has come before. Don’t look for it – it’s unlikely you’ll notice when it happens, at least at first. The fallout is fascinating and is formally and structurally interesting. It’s a daring move – however, the content could have been much better and left me baffled both in ways it was clearly supposed to and ways I’m sure it was not supposed to.
Circumfrence took an admirable risk with Staged, and I would be fascinated to see the idea developed further. As it stands, I think there is work left to do.
