Adelaide Festival. Festival Theatre. 15 Mar 2023
The curtain lifts and a giant fabric is risen into the air, and then another. They twist and bellow with unworldly suspension. And then they are let go and infused with a life of their own; the fabrics defy gravity. They are beautifully lit and dance to music in a mesmerising show. The audience applauds. That was only the first five minutes and a harbinger that, for the following fifty-five minutes, we would also feel a lightness of being.
Circus performers Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone have developed a sublime show in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel. From their base in New York City, their touring physical theatre company, Acrobuffos, has taken Air Play to over ninety theatres worldwide and has been seen by 150,000 people.
The clowns appear in monochromatic outfits of yellow and red dressed like Depression-era young adolescents. An older brother teases his sister mercilessly as they playfully bring out their aerially unchallenged toys from their colour-coordinated suitcases. There are stunning kinetic tableaus of floating orbs and twinkling stars abiding in the heavens, and one gasps at the wonder of it all. It’s all coordinated with mood-altering musical selections and subtle lighting by Jeanne Koenig to create a visual and audial feast. Bloom and Gelsone are highly expressive with childlike gestures and grimaces of pure joy and wonder, and their physical clowning is delightful. Some of the balloons are big enough to fit into and they do a hilarious scene within the giants.
Director West Hyler can direct the performers but the activities of the gravity-defying objects is unique every show. So is the audience participation and it’s amazing how frequently people seem more mischievous or incompetent than helpful. Consequently, the balloon-over-the-audience bit, like at a rock concert, lingered longer than it should have. And like siblings, they had a falling out and seemed to go their separate ways with their suitcases; this was emotionally charged but laden with pathos.
Air Play is a show for all ages. It’s a simple idea but extremely difficult to actually create and execute as the six years of development attests. This is a dream of flight come true in all its beauty and grace. Bravo!
David Grybowski
When: 15 to 19 Mar
Where: Festival Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefestival.com.au
