EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
Eloquent body language
Simon Parsons admires the ambition of a spectacular show that pits disabled performers against Nazis
EMPOWERING: Abbie Purvis in Waldo's Circus of Magic and Terror
[Paul Blakemore]
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
MARIA DUARTE and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Sunny Dancer, Tony, Songs of Forgotten Trees, and The End of Oak Street
JOHN GREEN relishes a powerful and moving drama that explores the lived realities of west London’s Punjabi community
MARTIN HALL welcomes a plea for greater compassion between believer and non-believer via the framework of philosophical enquiry
Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror
Bristol Old Vic
WITH elements of Cabaret and The Greatest Show on Earth this musical, set in 1933 Germany, explores the responses of a circus troupe to the rise of the Nazis. Largely made up of social outcasts with many disabled performers, the circus is a prime target for Hitler’s programme of eugenic cleansing.
Devised and co-written by Hattie Naylor this is a hugely ambitious production with a large cast of diversely abled performers who create a vibrant, co-dependent world under Ti Green’s magnificent big top set, and accompanied by Charles Hazlewood’s dynamic, musical composition.
With the assistance of Extraordinary Bodies (a charity championing diversity and equity in the performing arts) the aerial routines are truly breathtaking and the range of physicality on display impressive.
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