A Simple Space @ The Octagon, Gluttony, Adelaide 22/2/2020
A Simple Space. Simple lighting. Simple costuming. A Simple Idea.
But this is one of the most satisfying shows you will see at this year’s Fringe Festival.
Adelaide’s Gravity and Other Myths are stalwarts of two mainstream Festivals with their shows Backbone and Out of Chaos and several Fringe shows at previous festivals, but because of the disarmingly simple concept behind the show it has the capacity to intoxicate its audience. And time and again, Full House audiences jump to their feet in appreciation.
The simple idea behind A Simple Space is this. Eight incredibly talented and finely honed athletes engage in the types of competitive bravado and athleticism that you would find in tribal rituals and then come together in the most complex forms of acrobatic collaboration. The physical shapes that these athletes make in their moments of collaboration are so aesthetically pleasing to watch that you forget to consider just how perilously dangerous these moves are. They then dissolve into entropy as bodies are thrown about, climbed on, jumped on and then contorted into shapes you would not believe humanly possible.
And the recurring thought keeps flying through your 21st century brain conditioned with all sorts of bureaucratic safety regulations. There are no safety nets here. The audience is really close to the stage. Just one slip and… These moves are dangerous. Really dangerous. But you look at the faces of these athletes and there is not a skerrick of fear; they are smiling and whooping and encouraging and just having a great time. And you just feel that fine sense of camaraderie that exists among the cast as they turn a simple space into a complex contortion of human bodies.
The playfulness inherent in this troupe is most evident in the filler routines which are so necessary for the cast to catch their breath. The skipping competition is pants down (literally) hilarious as are the balloon sculptures and playtime with the audience and rubber balls.
Gravity and Other Myths are in their element in The Octagon at Gluttony because it feels intimate in spite of it being one of the larger venues, and the audience can see the intense concentration and hear every whoop of delight as another complex routine comes off perfectly.
The finale is nothing short of being breathtakingly spectacular. Andre Augustus, Will Meager, Brenton Adams-Walker, Joshua Strachan, Chris Iacopetta and Jordan Hart provide incredible strength and flexibility as they throw Joanne Curry and Annalise Moore from person to person while Moore and Curry in turn, show amazing flexibility and balance as they back arch in mid flight and climb on top of bodies to dizzying heights. There are moments when the audience collectively gasps in a moment of disbelief.
You wont see too many better shows than this.
Fringe Review By Bob Becker
For tickets and show information head to FringeTix.