Like a taster menu with a number of very interesting tidbits which don’t quite make a meal the various ‘turns’ of the performers still hint at something very satisfying in prospect with triumphs to come. This is a show of great style with a mix of Victorian Gothick and expressionism, but whereas the drive of the latter is to focus on meaning and emotional effect through exaggeration, here they have still to discover the emotional arc, which engages and pulls the audience in. The result is style over substance with, I’m afraid, more interesting narrative in the programme notes than has been translated onto the stage. The freak-show introduction possibly gives them a start which heads off in the wrong direction. For me it remains a concept which promises much and which with some attention to narrative structure could yet deliver. If they are going to make such gnomic utterances as, ’There is a place between earth and sky where our dreams meet our realities’, they set up an expectation which if not met will lead to disappointment.
It may be that I’m being a little harsh on what is after all a piece of circus. Perhaps it is inevitable that in a production designed to showcase particular talents elements such as storytelling and character will take a back seat. Yet as I hinted above, we sit in our seats urging them on to greater things, seeing the clear potential. The narrative possibilities of, for example, a woman who, having lost her baby, wants to fly with the birds are barely touched on in the vignette of Isadora. Individually one can only admire the skills on show on rope, trapeze and pole. The band too, all looking like variations of Max Wall, would grace and enhance any stage with their eclectic style, which calls to mind the Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band.
When I first saw this show a couple of years ago, in a tent behind Bristol’s Temple Meads station my impression was of unfulfilled potential. The skills of the members of Invisible Circus seemed to open up possibilities not available to conventionally trained actors. Having seen it again in the refined surroundings of the Bristol Old Vic my original assessment stands. Notwithstanding, we can be sure that talents so hard won will continue to strive and soon find the perfect vehicle. With the current production we are in the realm of fantasy to which the company is well suited and whilst they delight to entertain, grand success can only be a matter of time. ★★★☆☆ Graham Wyles 11/04/15
