In the evening I promote a show for the Adelaide Fringe Festival. It seems like Adelaide is filled with artists, and I meet several of them trying to convince them to come see the show I’m flyering for. So sometimes you start a little conversation. And this time I started a great conversation that ended in me getting two tickets to one of the hottest shows; Limbo!
So after work I rushed to the Garden of unearthly delights, more specifically the Spiegeltent. Mere minutes after I sat down the show started. I was taken to the land of Limbo and we all know anything can happen there. The music takes you into Limbo straight away, capturing your attention when a man with messy hair a la Einstein starts making sounds you’d never think could be produced by men. All music is played live and uses the strangest of sounds. Bowls with marbles, drums, guitars, objects that alter the sounds of trombones… you name it and it was there. The only word I think of for this style is extravagant.
The music was always strengthening the performance, the artists responding to every move. A beatboxer provides the sound effects for the contortionist. Feet move to the beat while a man is standing on one hand on top of a high pole. On top of that, all the artists seem to be able to sing well. Even the lyrics were supporting the acts on stage, speaking about love, while the artists on stage show you love.
Limbo is a circus show, but far from the circus I went to as a kid. The show is filled with mind-blowing acts of dancers, contortionists, acrobats and fire-eaters. It is a true homage to the power of the human body. I saw a muscular man walking up a pole, swinging around it more gracefully than any pole dancer I’ve ever seen. He managed to stay still, hanging on the pole in a 90 degree angle, defying all rules of gravity.
To me one of the highlights was seeing four of the artists with their legs strapped to poles that swing like elastics. They built up the tension getting closer and closer to each other and the audience. No matter how concentrated an artist seemed to have to be, there was always room for humor. Suddenly someone looses his cap, taken off by the man soaring above his head.
There was another muscular man, the show was full of them, that jumped from pole to pole on one hand. There was a woman swallowing swords and breathing fire like it was nothing. Mix in some illiusions, people showing up and disappearing in boxes, and you’ve got a bit of an idea what this show is all about. There was dancing, tap, breakdance, ballet.
I felt like a child again, gazing at the stage in amazement, eyes wide open and almost popping out of my head, my jaw dropping to the floor. How do they do this stuff? I still don’t understand. The whole crew consists of dedicated performers, using their body and facial expression to give you a marvelous show filled with excitement, laughter, disbelief and astonishment.
Got excited? Check it out for yourself!
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