Noir

Translating the plot twists and character conventions of Film Noir into a non-verbal Aerial performance piece is never going to be an easy task. The Crime Lord baddie, the good Detective, the Femme Fatale and the Innocent object of affection are all represented well here and introduced to us in the early scenes. They are all highly skilled performers in aerial hoop, tissus (silks), corde lisse (rope) and trapeze; the stand out demonstrations of skill coming from the Crime Lord antagonist, (reminiscent of John Turturro in Miller’s Crossing) whose oily character is mirrored in his fluid movements on the various equipment; and the good Detective whose strange angular face and seamless abilities on the equipment, evoking elements of Dark City in his oddness.
There are some nice touches (the bleak tone set by the driving rain) and in the middle, a beautiful drug induced dream sequence that the Detective has, which involves the entire cast. It is a truly mesmerising and engaging performance that shows promise as to what this show could have been throughout. Dialogue in crime noir films is one of the most engaging elements and in throwing that away your physical performances have to express such complicated plot, twists and turns and character definitions through your whole being, which is sadly, very tough to do given the physical demands whilst hanging upside down by your feet.
The plot and characters become muddied and difficult to understand towards the end the main characters, set up so well at the start, never seem to properly follow through. There is no doubting the performers physical prowess, but ultimately is lacking in the performer charisma and clarity to make it truly swing.

2/5

Catriona Ruth Paterson