Edinburgh Fringe dance reviews: Apricity | Ghost Light: Between Fall and Flight | OH OH

Circus meets physical theatre in the latest batch of Edinburgh Fringe dance reviews, as penned by Kelly Apter.

Apricity at the Edinburgh Fringe | Apricity

Apricity

Assembly George Square Gardens (Venue 3), until 25 August

★★★

We’ve come to expect a lot from Casus, the Australian company that brought us Knee Deep and Driftwood amongst other shows. Rightly so, as two of the co-founders, Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay, are mesmeric circus performers with incredible strength and skill. Joined for this new show by three female performers, they once again deliver a mix of acrobatics, aerial work and - their calling card - balancing on things that really shouldn’t be walked on (in this instance, small glass candle holders).

The show’s title refers to a feeling of warmth on a cold day (hence the candles), and Casus takes this theme and runs with it. The mood is sombre and slow at times but the smiles between performers are always bright, conveying a beautiful sense of support and kinship. But until the show starts to come to a close, when three-people towers and precarious balancing begins to wow the crowd, Apricity feels a little low-key. It’s also hard to relax and think ‘they’ve got this’, when some of the lifts and carries lack confidence and finesse. Perhaps it was an off-day, either way this is not quite the Casus of old, though still offering much to appreciate.

Ghost Light: Between Fall and Flight

Underbelly’s Circus Hub (Venue 360), until 24 August

★★

When Maxim Laurin and Guillaume Larouche step onto the teeterboard that sits centre stage in the Lafayette circus tent, sparks fly - and so do they. Soaring high in the air, the two men spin and twirl, the epitome of grace and power. Swapping places mid-air, they defy gravity and exhibit a skill so finely honed, it’s as if they and the teeterboard are one being. As soon as they step off it, however, this show has more padding than the crash mats that surround them. Barely audible dialogue and a narrative that crawls along at a painfully slow pace, especially towards the end, suggest a true lack of audience empathy.

OH OH

Underbelly George Square (Venue 300), until 25 August

★★★

Offering an hour of gentle humour, rather than belly-laugh comedy, Swiss clowns Simone Fassari and Camilla Pessi know how to communicate with an audience without saying a single word. A simple look, shrug or cheeky smile speaks volumes in this entertaining non-verbal show.

Last seen at the Fringe with PSS PSS, the duo are back with another helping of silliness, blending physical theatre and acrobatics. The show opens with Fassari asleep on a chair, and as we’re taken inside his dream, an imp-like figure (Pessi) appears high up in the Udderbelly roof. Climbing down a rope ladder to join him, their competitive antics begin. Who can take their coat off the quickest, who can throw balls into a bin, or claim ownership of the one available seat? It’s all mildly diverting and certainly raises a smile. 

Fassari and Pessi liken their show to Buster Keaton et al, but nothing here matches the cleverness or wit of such silent movie heroes. What they do manage, however, is some confident hand and shoulder balancing manoeuvres towards the close of the show. All the more impressive, when they skillfully combine playing musical instruments with acrobatics.

A Brief Case of Crazy

theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43), until 24 August

★★

The three young performers of Skedaddle Theatre Company pour their hearts and souls into this office romance. Thomas loves Daisy, Daisy loves Thomas, but both are too shy to admit it and their annoying boss keeps getting in the way. All of which is conveyed clearly and cleanly, if a little repetitively. The acting trio met at a Lecoq-based physical theatre course in London, and were clearly good students as they’ve learned all the tips and tricks this style has to offer. Not everything serves the narrative, however, and some characters are crudely drawn, but for a debut work, there’s lots of potential here.

Negare

C aquila (Venue 21), until 25 August

★★★

Quite what is happening in this intimate 30-minute solo is anyone’s guess but if you can lose yourself in the mystery of it all, Negare is a delight. Dancer Alexandre Lipaux has a wonderfully open and fluid movement style that steals your gaze, and makes you bemoan the fact you’re only able to watch him dance for half an hour.

Sitting on a throne surrounded by bundled up t-shirts, he smiles at the assembled crowd. Then, one by one, each t-shirt is stuffed inside his large white shirt, transforming the shape of his torso but in no way impeding his graceful movement. Sliding along the floor, legs and arms stretched, Lipaux is lost inside the music, the epitome of elegance despite his padded bulk. 

Then the piece takes a (not unwelcome) turn, digging deeper into the theatrical absurd. Stripping down to his underwear, our beguiling host offers us raw carrots to join in his picnic before wrapping himself in an ecclesiastical shroud for a stunning final image. 

Negare is part of a longer triptych by Luxembourg-based choreographer, Giovanni Zazzera, and perhaps in context it makes more sense. Still, all by itself, its qualities shine. 

Anatomy for Accountants

Summerhall (Venue 26), until 26 August

★★★

How much is your body worth? It’s an impossible question to answer, of course, but New Zealand-based choreographer and dancer Sacha Copland is giving it a go. Aided by musician and ‘financial advisor’ Tristan Carter, she works her way through the wonder that is human anatomy. 

Organs, bones, glands, skin - they’re all hailed by Copland for the incredible things they do, via a mix of impassioned movement and text. Then Carter, ever the pragmatist, sticks a price on them. Partly based on how much they would cost to replace with medication or a transplant, partly made up for comedic effect. 

Copland’s delivery is never less than dynamic and she’s not afraid to deliver half this anatomy lesson completely naked. But while she’s laid bare physically, you can’t help but feel that emotionally, the walls are still up. References are made to times in her life when this strong, beautiful 40-something body was mistreated, but the ambiguity holds us at arm’s length. There are also strong political statements to be made about the price attached to a woman’s body, none of which is tackled here, and that feels like a missed opportunity. 

Book of Dew

Zoo Playground (Venue 186), until 25 August

★★★

There’s something rather special about taking a tiny show to the world’s biggest arts festival. Stepping inside a small room at Zoo Playground, we find a large wooden box that is more art installation than theatrical set. Inside it (although we can’t see them), the show’s creators Connor Lifson and Sid Zhang are waiting to welcome us into their miniature world.

Covered in little doors, the box is ripe with potential as we sit waiting, longing to know what delights await us behind each one. A gentle story gets the ball rolling, about a spider so entranced by nighttime dew, it spins a large web to stop the moon from setting. It’s a simple yet layered tale acknowledging that all things must pass, and that if we want to experience new things, we have to let go of the past. 

Quite how the variety of objects and images that emerge from behind each door connect to this narrative is unclear. None of them has the kind of ‘wow factor’ the box suggests, either (although the water tank comes close). But with a little more thought and imagination, Zhang and Lifson have the makings of something truly magical.