THE BALLOON MAN

REVIEW: Circus Oz pulls death-defying stunts

 

Leave any theatre expectations behind and let Circus Oz wow you with their circus acts.
From: mandurahmail.com.au
By Amy Martin
Sept. 5, 2013
THE biggest tip anyone can be given before seeing Circus Oz's Cranked Up is to ignore the fact it’s in a theatre.
Despite the descriptive name, the performance’s location can be misleading to the performance.
By replacing the big top for a stage and curtains, comes the expectation of a story line.
With knowing only little about the actual performance prior to curtain call, audiences can be left spending the first half wondering when the story will kick in.
So ignore any expectations you may have when going to the theatre, and go in knowing you’re seeing a circus performance instead.
Once you take away the prior need of one moment linking to the next, it leaves talented performers and their death-defying acts.
Circus Oz presents all the traditional circus acts, everyone knows and marvels over but with a twist.
Set on a high-rise construction site, the show promotes the idea of a place where “nothing belongs” and the builders come circus performers swap the trapeze for scaffolding, the tightropes for girders and clowns for failed magicians.
The performers have the audience mesmerised with their stunts, and laughing at their jokes.
The stand out performance coming from the narcissistic, mullet-man Des (played by Dale Woodbridge), who replaces the role of ringmaster.
One of the only characters in the performance, he acts (whether intentionally or not) as an anchor point for the rest of the circus to revolve around.
He executes the ‘I love myself’ attitude successfully. 
Even when he informs the audience he’s like the sun, “beautiful to look at, but going to hurt you in the end”, it is not of off putting, proving that humour can really make or break a character’s profile.
His supermodel-like poses adds the humour needed during intense stunts, and coupled with his acrobat skills makes him entertaining to watch.
It’s characters such as Des which ads the Aussie larrikin into the mix, something to engage the average Australian male in the audience.
They have made the circus manly – well as manly as a circus can be anyway.
Circus Oz will perform two shows this Saturday at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre.