Everyone gets tied up in knots at times. Or wants to test the limits of what is possible. Barely Methodical Troupe do both in the world premiere of a show commissioned by Norfolk and Norwich festival, which has always been a leader in recognising the artfulness of contemporary circus.
Played out on a tiny diamond-shaped stage, the three men (Louis Gift, Elihu Vazquez, Charlie Wheeller) and one woman (Esmeralda Nikolajeff) employ minimal equipment and endlessly test each other using only thick rubber resistance bands, their own bodies and a single Cyr wheel.
There is real invention: the wheel becomes a circular tightrope, the bands tie the performers together like an umbilical cord that must be cut. At one point, the rubber bands become like strings attached to a human marionette manipulated by two puppet masters.
But the best equipment on display is the performers’ bodies. Vazquez breakdances as if the floor is electrocuted, and the male-to-female ratio is subverted by how often the mesmerising Nikolajeff bears the weight of the men, matching them for strength.
Like the company’s last show, Kin, this one is directed by a dancer, Melissa Ellberger, and it shows not just in the breakdancing but in the way the movement and tricks fold into each other. The company are comfortable with their bodies – less so with the text and comedy – and the intimacy of the small space intensifies the danger and makes every drop of sweat visible.
- At the Adnams Spiegeltent, Norwich, until 27 May, as part of Norfolk and Norwich festival. Box office: 01603 766400.
