By Joy McKay.
I was delighted to be invited to the Opening Gala night of the Brighton Fringe Festival by Revel Puck Circus on May 1st. As is common for Fringe Festivals, this runs alongside the main Brighton Festival but brings together the smaller, weirder, more esoteric and (for Brighton at least) the queerer shows. This Gala night was a showcase of some of the 30 acts who would be performing from 2nd to 31st May in ‘The Circus Yard’ an area containing two Big Tops which have been erected on The Level (about a 15 minute walk from the train station) for the month.
The site includes a shady beer garden with a good range of drinks as well as food from La Pura Vida. The food on offer simple nachos and tacos, but it was tasty and included vegan and gluten free options alongside the meat and fish choices. As you’d expect at the circus there is also candy floss and popcorn available. The beer garden has free entry for all, not just circus goers.
The audience was treated to snippets from a variety of artists who will staging full shows as part of the festival. Starting with ‘In This Together’ a beautiful performance of acrobatic dance with interaction and collaboration with members of the audience who light the duo with torches and choose when they can move. This was in huge contrast to the silliness of “The Greatest Show in Earth’ which really highlighted the diversity of how contemporary circus craft can be delivered.
An aerial trio from ‘Scratch That Cabaret’, graduating students from the National Centre for Circus Arts, however, returned the show to what you may more traditionally expect from the circus. Their performance looked effortless, yet I can’t imagine the strength, trust and confidence that was required to perform the routine. Incredible that this is just their graduating show, they must have amazing careers ahead! ‘Ivy Moon Café’ provided an interesting take on juggling. An ethereal buffoon, she had the audience absolutely transfixed as juggled, dropped and generally just played with her props as we watched on, enchanted and confused.
The aforementioned queerness was provided by ‘United Queendom,’ with a drag queen performing burlesque upside down, balancing on one hand, and the iconic ‘Lucinda B. Hind’. Also performing burlesque in acrobatic positions, but in tribute to Hollywood icons. Both queens showed incredible athleticism, but whilst wearing huge wigs and remaining glamorous!
The show finished with ‘The Nose Dive Assembly’, the headline act of the Big Top from my hosts of the evening; The Revel Puck Circus. A mind blowing Cyr Wheel act performed at height on a very wobbly platform with no barrier. I was scared to watch as the artist spun around, what appeared, uncontrollably.
I was only treated to a taster of each of these fabulous acts, but I really enjoyed them all. There is so much to experience in both the main and the Fringe festivals this month. The huge range of types of performance, venue and price mean that you’ll be sure to find something to entertain you.
For more information, visit revelpuckcircus.com.
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