Face Value | Adelaide Fringe 2022 review

Outside the Lines Circus proves to its audience, in this beguiling show, that there is no rule that isn’t worth breaking.

AdelaideFace Value

Face Value

Circus

Rating: ****

Melba Spiegeltent at Gluttony

Until March 20

While convention demands circus be high-octane, noisy and in your face, there is no rule that isn’t worth breaking.

Outside the Lines Circus starts with a conversation with the audience about the divide between stalls and stage.

In this circus a short chat with the audience moves on to some innocuous movement, walking around the ring for example, before resolving in a series of daring feats.

The sequences tell the audience that we are with mature circus artists who have developed a nuanced understanding of their art and career.

A strong man shows his pain as four others hang from his iron bar. A slip of a woman doubts her commitment as she flies through the air to handstand on hands. A sleepless woman makes a dance beneath her sheets. It is beguiling.