This replay of my review last year, in honor of the recent passing of the show's multi-talented producer, John Hayes Mabley, known professionally as John Haze, famed for his Circus of Horrors and considered UK's greatest showman since Jerry Cottle.
It has been a long while, perhaps too long, for a circus to so directly ignore virtually everything that Cirque du Soleil has come to stand for in the public’s mind. UK-based Circus Extreme is not a knock off. Not a made-in-Montreal souffle. This is the genuine article, unafraid to get down and daring, and a little messy around the edges, without softening its impact by pretentious allusions to stage or ballet.
Owner-producer John Haze’s welcome audacity is more an attitude than a revolution, drawn from the roots of circus – when sawdust literally flew out of the ring. Circus Extreme is, when you think about it, only extreme in its daring-do to go for the gut in a show largely shaped the older fashioned way, albeit with modern scoring and active lighting that gives it a darker, dare I say more hip James Bondian feel.
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Pinito Del Oro, above, and Harold Alzana, below, thrilled Ringling audiences in the 1950s
In a pitch- dark tent which seats up to 3,000, a cool first frame assaults our senses with flaming yellow screens and flashing blue strobes. Female faces appear in small windows. A woman enters to sing a song, and in a sensitive bow to shared tensions beyond the tent, performers silently parade, bearing placards that read, samples, HOPE— FREEDOM — EVERY MIND MATTERS.
Underscoring the first segments is a haunting abstract soundscape that I wish could have extended deeper into production. While the musical selections overall are not particularly memorable, they do stay fairly relevant to the shifting moods.
A man cavorts inside a large ring. Sexy exotic dancers take a brief roll, and a pair of roller skaters take to a small circular platform. The show is now on.
The talent lineup proves to be something of a mixed bag, veering from the banal (a labored low wire workout not ready for prime time) to absolute brilliance – one of the greatest juggling turns I have seen in years. Each act is briefly prefaced by a line of cool dancers to variable effect. The performance winds it self up on into one of the most undeniably griping payoffs to any circus I have yet beheld: Hip young motorcycle riders, gunning up a ramp and catapulting themselves into space over the globe of death.
I am reminded of an old Barnum & Bailey poster depicting a small auto somersaulting off one ramp to land on another. We are persuasively reconnected to the primal lure of the big top. Circus Extreme's madly fearless young riders deliver a wham bang finish to a high-tension show, all of which together forms a rather mesmerizing collage of bodies artfully in motion.
This may not be a perfectly rendered work, but a perfectly arresting sampler of what circus crowds live for. And let’s give John Haze more than a little slack here: The war in Ukraine, not to mention the lingering chill of Covid, has crimped his producing hand and narrowed his scouting options, critically depriving him of the Russians and Chinese, while leading him deeper into South America — a viable source of top grade wizardry.
For my eyes, five highlights merit solid respect:
* the exceptional aerial Aerial Duo Polischuck. I judge this kind of act as much by the fluidity of transitions from one item to the next as by what they actually do. Their mastery in both realms left me thoroughly satisfied.
* The tremendous dexterity of ball bounce juggler Tony Garcia. Built like a wrestler, he delivers a powerfully compelling display utilizing (if I counted right) six balls and a little fire. Those balls sometimes look like a dozen or more, and when he descends a small staircase, they are bouncing with him every step of the way!
* The refreshing high wire exploits of a crack South American troupe, fellows who attack the narrow strand with eager agility, passion and pizazz. The dance. They scamper. They jump over each other.
* Henry the clown, in a genuinely charming comedy pantomime, set in a small café. He plays the smitten waiter to a lovely patron. It’s a perfectly wrought little masterpiece, unlike anything I’ve ever seen at the circus. Pure gold.
Henry also excels as a surprise member of the high wire act. He is badgered into taking a go at it up there. He turns out to be as accomplished as his South American brothers - riding a tiny unicycle, taking part in perilous pyramids, and jumping rope at hurricane speeds (his record is said to be 211 in 60 seconds).
On the ground as an audience participation buffoon, Henry keeps his lively presence felt with a fairly predicable bag of tricks, all except for being chased around the ring by a loud buzzing bee, which put a grin on my face.
* The motorcycle riders, catapulting themselves off the start ramp, into space through increasingly more daring stunts, and onto the end ramp into near- darkness on the other side. This is what thrills the crowds, period. What re-energies their love of circus and brings them back.
This gutsy atmosphere cries out for a thundering roll around the ring of horses and acrobats. I see that previous editions have included animals. John Haze may be building up a PETA-proof reputation, should he dare push the envelop deeper into history' And the crowds might cheer him on. Those muscular roots are never far from the surface, always hovering below, never far.
In the end, the public will say, yes, come back! It could not happen in a more appropriate land than the birthplace of circus
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End notes: This review may not reflect what you actually see if you watch a video of the show. To explain, wanting to watch the video a second time, I was clearly watching another video, or another performance. While the first video gave me a better view of Tony Garcia's act, the second one gave me a superior view of the bike riders flying over the globe.
6.17.22
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