Reviews

Review of Beta Testing at Circomedia in Bristol

Posted on: 2015-03-08

The show made juggling into an art, something beautiful and interesting, something funny and touching, something that anyone of any age can freely enjoy. Something to be taken seriously.

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Beta Testing was compiled by a trio of talented professional jugglers and brilliantly produced to entertain, inform and educate in equal measure.

I feel the humble art of juggling may have been, regretfully, overlooked and undervalued. Prior to this show I assumed it was one in a long list of gimmicks that your everyday clown has to perform in order to make some kids laugh (or cry) at a budget birthday party. A past-time for hippies at festivals. That sort of thing. However this show shot my unjustified preconceptions down, continuing  to build my opinions back up with a more educated and respectful tone. In short, I felt like a bit of a jerk.

Not that this in any way reduced my enjoyment of the show, quite the contrary. It was an interesting premise to begin with. People rarely go to a circus-skills based performance and expect to learn something, but we did that night. Alongside the fact that the whole show was hilarious, this young trio clearly have a gift not only for their craft, but for the humorous and gentle approach needed to teach through entertainment.

The show started with a few short performance pieces including a witty soliloquy detailing the struggle of being asked about your job when the answer isn’t a simple “I’m an accountant”, and a poem with a charming back story. Combining what seemed like a TED Talk with a generous helping of comedy and practical skill, the three bounced off each other with amiable chemistry. Without the help of cues, the audience laughed uproariously, gasped, and applauded at astonishingly regular intervals, as the group humbly displayed their talent amidst self-effacing witticisms and harmless banter. The skill that they clearly possessed was amplified by the use of a 7 foot tall unicycle, an elaborate light and visual multi-media montage, and a whole host of obscure props.

The performance then went onto more informative sections, teaching us the history and provenance of juggling, and some of the key slang words used when performing. This was done in a very clever visual way, and had everyone in stitches long before they were through. Although some jokes may have been stretched out too long, bordering on uncomfortable, (including one section where they ‘accidentally’ dropped everything for 10 whole minutes) the overall effect was one that the audience seemed extremely positive towards. A smattering of sketches were so obscure in their nature that it drew to mind Monty Python-esque humour, especially when fish slapping was actually involved somehow with juggling.

The show was recommended for ages 12 and up, but the audience consisted of all ages – students to OAPs, and every single one of them enjoyed the show, albeit different parts. This is undoubtedly a strength that the trio have to play on if they are planning to continue with such successful shows, appealing to almost anyone within a 60 minute show. I applaud them for this, and clearly they have created a successful career for themselves out of something highly unusual. I have never experienced a show quite like it – it was an unidentifiable mish-mash of themes, genres, comedy and serious sentiment – but somehow it just worked. I, the thirteen year old to my right, and the man in his late fifties on my left, enjoyed the show in equal measure, and I would surely recommend checking Circus Geeks out online in their natural habitat. The show made juggling into an art, something beautiful and interesting, something funny and touching, something that anyone of any age can freely enjoy. Something to be taken seriously.

4/5

Reviewed by Miri Teixeira for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol.

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