Circus’cision | Head First Acrobats & Guests
As impressive as the acrobatics and skills of Circus’cision are, there’s something about Cal Harris’ humour that speaks to me.
Growing up in rural Australia, the circus is just that: the cliché one that would come to town every now and then. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about those circuses, but they never could grab my attention in the way Circus’cision does. It’s different and brands itself on being a more adult oriented circus cabaret promising delightfully offensive language and the tease of potential nudity.
But beyond the adult themes there’s passionate hard work and an elegance in the performances with some weirdness thrown in too.
Although we didn’t get any nudity on this night, there were some laugh out loud moments that were hit and miss with the audience. You either appreciate Cal Harris’ humour and ‘bad’ jokes or you don’t, though it should be noted it was done by design and plays into what he is doing. He did manage to make me smile and laugh which is not always an easy thing to do. The performances were dangerous, exciting, sensual, fun and had the audience engaged. Featuring a variety of different acts some including Chelsea Angell’s memorizing hula hoop routine performed with beauty and grace, to Cal showing his unbelievable balancing skill with what he can do on a single ladder. Each act moved at a good pace and it never felt like anyone overstayed their welcome.
When he isn’t dazzling us with his ladder performance, Cal plays the role of the host introducing each act to the stage. His interactions with the crowd in between make us feel like we are part of the show rather than just standing there watching. There’s an intimacy to Circus’cision which has a charming effect and Cal does a great job with his charismatic personality at engaging with his audience. Even with the raunchiness and adult style format, there’s still a familiarity at what you might expect at a circus. But it’s ability to strip down the presentation to create a more underground feel is what sets it apart.
What I enjoyed most about the show is the physical nature to it. There’s a sense of danger to some of the acts which adds to the drama. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. The acts might be choregraphed and well trained, but the amount of time that goes into perfecting it and the skill to pull it off seamlessly is something to admire. They are serious acrobats and performers dedicated to their art and that doesn’t get lost in the fun and at times silliness of it. Even if you’re not into the humorous side of it as much, there’s still a lot there to be appreciated.
Circus’cision has been around for a while although this was one of the first events in some time. It was my first experience at attending it and it’s something I’ll be looking at going to again, and with a revolving cast it makes each show feel special not knowing exactly what you’re going to get on the night. If you enjoy the circus, cabaret, and spectacular aerialists then it’s worth checking out.
