Adelaide Fringe review 2017: Cirque Africa
BIG, brazen, physical and with a good flip of humour to boot - this is a winner.
Cirque Africa
Circus ****
At the Cirque Africa Big Top, Hindmarsh Square, until March 19
The big brazen physical style of these performers from all across Africa is the winning element in this show. In its hour-long Fringe mode, the circus relies mainly on 10 incredibly fit and well muscled blokes with oodles of skills across pole work, teeter boards, balance, pyramids and sheer joie de vivre. The single female act proves herself a mistress of spinning any object from drums and pots to an entire table on her feet. A two-man percussion unit pounds out rhythms to set the whole thing in motion. The stand-out act is a bit of clown work that turns four audience members into an air guitar James Brown band. A clown that can pick four lively guinea pigs from an audience of 500 is clever indeed. Who would have thought the ring-in air keyboard player would throw in a backflip for laughs.
Tim Lloyd