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Arts Festival Review: Inside Out

Arts Festival Review: Inside Out

Review by Katie MacKinnon

Inside Out: Cirkus
Cirkör with Irya’s Playground
Image from the Inside Out trailer.

Inside Out
Cirkus Cirkör with Irya’s Playground
1 – 8 March
Opera House

Last Night’s Inside Out from Cirkus Cirkor was an enthralling performance from the moment the audience entered the theatre, from the oversized ‘no photography’ and ‘no cell phone’ signs passed through the audience to Fredrik Deijfen’s white clown who kept us amused. The show started with a bang and so it was all the way to the finale.

All the way from Sweden, this contemporary circus presents not just tricks but a delicate balance of humour, humility, courage and spectacle. Jam-packed full of ideas and acts, the show was an exciting yet poignant investigation into the purpose of life and the meaning of death, with a little bit of trapeze on the side.

The Chinese pole executed expertly by Anna Lagervist was a highlight as she climbed sky-high and slid down just as fast. At times holding on with just a leg, her performance was not only technically beautiful but courageous.

Irya’s Playground – an alternative rock group from Sweden – are the on-stage musical accompaniment for the show. A pairing like this doesn’t come by accident and it’s clear from the holistic nature of the show that all the performers have a deep and abiding connection to the music: drummer Erik Nilsson’ duet with the juggler especially is a union of tension, climax and mesmerisation.

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A cavalcade of action, drama, excitement and fart jokes ending in thunderous applause; Inside Out is a sure crowd-pleaser.

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Irya's Playground will also perform at the Festival Club on March 7

Press release: High Flying Swedish Circus
TV3 Video: Cirkus Cirkor: making the impossible look easy
Arts Festival website: Inside out
YouTube: Cirkus Cirkör feat. Irya's Playground presents Inside Out
Cirkus Cirkör website
Cirkus Cirkör blog (mostly in Swedish, includes images)
Scoop Full Coverage: Arts Festival 2010

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