By Thomas Monckton & Circo Aereo. Arts Projects Australia with support from Creative New Zealand. Royal Croquet Club - The Panama Club. 13 Feb 2016
The concert pianist makes an entrance so excruciatingly awkward, he's bound to get a good clap. Squeezing through a tiny tear in the curtain, birth is given to a disheveled, lanky, wild-haired man in evening tails, dropping bundles of music and obsessively starting over to achieve poise and perfection. But he's no run-of-the-mill virtuoso. Kiwi Thomas Monckton trained at the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris - famous for its graduates (including Geoffrey Rush) in physical theatre and comedy - and teamed up with co-creator Sanna Silvennoinnen and NZ/Finland's Circo Aereo to bring us this acclaimed show that's been touring the world since 2013.
Nothing goes right for the pianist and Monckton hilariously wrestles with the sheet music, the grand piano's dust cover, the stool, the keyboard cover, a chandelier, the lighting guy and the audience, after fully mastering the curtain. Acute professional embarrassment and frustration, and obstacle-toppling inventiveness in attempting to start the concert are couched in the language of mime (language of mime, get it?), contortioned acrobatics and physical gimmickry. We cheer our hero ever onward - even as he swings from the chandelier - in his quest to tickle the 88s. After a while, I wished he'd just get on with a bit of playing, as some of the business was getting repetitive. But you’ve got to love the guy, with empathy in things going wrong, and for his sheer skill in making you laugh with preposterous slapstick.
David Grybowski
When: 13 Feb to 5 Mar
Where: Royal Croquet Club - The Panama Club, Panorama Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
