I love to watch live performances; there is something thrilling about seeing it all in the flesh, I enjoy the drama and crisis that is an inevitable part of watching the ‘here and now’, the ‘cut and thrust’ of live acting rather than the contrived final cut of a film that has taken months to produce.
But it is occasionally difficult to make the right choice and I have been to some real duff ones, so when it’s an act I have not heard about and I rely on the blurb and the picture in the theatre programme, it can be a bit of a gamble. But I am pleased to say the gamble paid off when I went along with my oldest son to watch the Circus Geeks perform Beta Testing at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis.
Of course it helps when the theatre is as quirky and individual as the Marine, every bit of it filled with shadows and echoes of previous performers and the layout; tables and chairs to make it feel like you are being entertained in your front parlour; all adds to the pleasure.
But from the moment we arrived, three minutes before ‘curtain up’, there was something happening on stage, so no chance of being bored.
The trio launch straight into the show; you feel like you have joined a conversation half way through, and you immediately latch on to what is being said.
With the juggling skills, and there is a great deal of extremely skilled juggling, the repartee and ‘heart-on-my-sleeve’ speech, you are reminded about the ups and downs of life. That it doesn’t always go smoothly and if you occasionally drop a ball or hoop, it’s not the end of the world; you just pick it up and try again and keep trying until you achieve your goal.
From Bruno’s Nightmare to shoulder throws and a drop-back to head rolls with a unicycle in between, Jon, Matt and Arron keep up the momentum with captivating and mesmerising juggler agility.
This show gives you circus tricks, wit & banter and an interesting take on life. The three young men each have something important to share with the audience and they want to take their message around the world.
I have dropped countless balls and I know there will be many more that will fall when I take my eye off them to have a go at something else, but eventually I hope to keep them all in the air, or perhaps balance them on the end of my nose…I just hope there is no one around who will slap me in the face with a kipper (you’ll have to watch the show to understand what I’m talking about!)
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