46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes
nytheatre.com review by Maura Kelley
March 19, 2010
46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes is exactly what the title says though they did stop the clock a couple times to add to the tension. The show is done in a very presentational way by a young cast of Australian-born performers: Darcy Grant, Lewis West, and the "Two Emmas," Emma McGovern and Emma Serjeant. The acts combine a little of everything from skilled athleticism to just plain silliness. One interesting quote I overhead from a neighboring seven-year-old was, "Did he really fart?"
West, the gymnast of the bunch, does the bulk of the juggling and tumbling. Some of his tricks are "Four of his Favorite Tumbles," "33 Juggling Tricks," and his impressive "Lightning Fast Head Spin." He also has an impressively skilled strap act. West is one of those athletic performers who makes everything look easy, which I even overheard one little girl comment. I did however, take heed to the repeated warnings from the cast, "Don't try this at home!"
"The Emmas" are two of the shortest red-headed powerhouses I've ever seen. McGovern does an amazing tissue act or silks act, as we call it in America. Basically, she dangles upside down from the ceiling 20 feet up, manipulating herself into various superhuman poses using two long hanging silks as her only support. McGovern also is blessed with "Abs of Steel" which she uses in a trick later on. One of the most hilarious moments is when Emma Serjeant brings out her pig dance act, which you're just going to have to see for yourself. Grant, a balancer of all things, does an impressive "Highly Dangerous Ladder Balance" with one of the tallest ladders I've ever seen. Grant's entertaining "Bubble Wrap Tap Dance" routine is side-splitting as well.
The audience was a combination of adults and children, but mostly the adults were accompanied by children. Since I don't have a child, I brought a former Ringling Bros. clown and skilled circus skill performer because I had an inkling that he might appreciate the show. In his words, the show was "adrenaline-filled fun!"
There are a couple acts where the performers describe circus routines in step by step instructions but don't really do them. I would have loved to have seen Lewis West and Darcy Grant actually execute an all out slab-board routine or incorporate more slapstick in general. These two are certainly skilled and silly enough to do it.
In the end, this young talented cast did accomplish all 46 acts with 20 seconds to spare.
