Fringe Reviews: Circa: Wolf, Garry Starr & Ascension

Circa: Wolf is an astonishing, feral acrobatic spectacle, says Frankie Reason.

★★★★

Performers snarl at one another from across the stage, negotiating, imitating one another’s movements, and the ‘pack’ repeatedly forms and disperses, repelling any lone wolves that attempt to penetrate the fold. 

The choreography is charged with an unexpected intimacy, raw and animalistic, bodies winding and climbing, seemingly driven by a strange, primal force, and in a particularly memorable scene, two male acrobatics cling together as though magnetised, moving with a propulsive rhythm.

The aerial routines are striking examples of the performers’ strength. Suspended by her arms, Christina Zauner twists her body through the air with a wild, frenetic energy as the audience looks on, transfixed, and Bonaventura is similarly impressive, scaling a narrow rope by his toes. 

The show is powerfully rhythmic, and Ori Lichtik’s electronic sound design is immersive, but I found that the energy lapsed towards the end of the hour. 

The drama of the routine was liable to interrupt the momentum of the acrobatics. Nevertheless, an extraordinary athletic feat from this troupe of performers. 

Garry Starr’s show is the first that has caused me to weep genuine tears – a combination of shock and uncontrollable mirth, says Frankie Reason.

★★★★

Garry Starr is naked. That might seem like a foregone conclusion for those that are familiar with the premise of his show, and yet the audience let out an audible gasp as he turned in his chair to face us, legs spread, puffing on a pipe.

Credit: Dylan Woodley

He’s wildly aware of the inherent comedy of the male phallus, and swings it about delightedly, to the crowd’s cheerful bemusement.

This is the first show that has caused me to weep genuine tears – a combination of shock and uncontrollable mirth. There are a few cautious faces in the audience, but the majority are all-in. which is good, because his crowd work makes the show.

Starr has a superb talent for winning consent from his audience, drawing them into scenarios they’d rarely embrace beyond the theatre – make of that what you will. It’s the best, and most baffling bit of physical comedy I’ve seen this Fringe, and well worth the price of admission. 

Dan Hazelwood delivers a frantic and deeply moving performance in Ascension, says Elle Machray.

★★★★