Theater concert review: Cirkus Fantastica

Yesterday (13th of September 2012) I went to Folketeateret in Copenhagen to see "Cirkus Fantastica" a theater concert with music by the danish composer Sebastian.

Written by: Sara Grabow (daughter of Sebastian) and Rolf Heim

Director: Rolf Heim

Music arranged by: Tomas Wisti Raae

Scenography: Sisse Jørgensen

Actors: Tammi Øst, Sara Grabow, Katja Tomasevic Olsen, Ole Thestrup, Peter Belli, Kristján Ingimarsson, Ivan Tomasevic

Musicians: Tomas Wisti Raae, Dan Hvidtfeldt, Anna Brøndsted, Anders Holst

Resumé:

This is a show about what happens to circus performers when they're not in the arena during the winter season. The show is an interesting combination of theater, circus, and a concert. This gives us a funny mixture where everyone's used as both actors, singers, musicians and entertainers. Some of the themes in the show is loneliness, missing, pressure, drinking etc.

Since the show is a theater concert, there is no completely clear story line.

Characters:

The actors have been working carefully with their characters, and the many details made it easy to understand every single character's background in another way than words can tell through the songs.

Often, all the characters were on stage at the same time, so sometimes it got a bit confusing to focus on every single person. Although, it helped that every character shared some of the same problems - the loneliness and the feeling of being stuck.

It was some really good actors and singers, and they worked with some really deep and big emotions. Unfortunately, the actors lost me a little every time a song ended. The transition between the songs seemed generally a bit purposeless, and that made the story turn into separated parts instead of one whole story.

Scenery:

The scenery was great. It was very simple, and with very few props. The backdrop was a screen which viewed different natural backgrounds such as cloud or water. It was a good effect, without stealing the whole picture. On the stage was three naked trees placed to symbolize the winter season.

The most important part of the scenery was six rectangular boxes. They were a little higher than a person, and with room for max three persons stuck into the box. One of the sides of the boxes were taken off, so we could look into the boxes. Each box represented each of the character's room. They were decorated so they fit each one of them. Every time something happened inside one of the boxes, there were lights in the box, and the rest of the scene was darkened. It helped giving a very intimate and focused view of every single character.

The boxes were very easy to to move around, so they were used a lot in different creative ways. The only other props used were a wide swing bed, and a long strip of fabric, both used by an acrobat in the show. There were also a big red piece of fabric which made it look like the circus tent. Overall, wonderful and simple scenery, which helped the audience focus on what was important.

Costumes:
I was very thrilled with the costumes. It both gave me associations to Commedia Dell'arte's street theater, and was also a great mix of old-school classic circus costumes, and more modern colors etc. The costumes and the make up made the characters very caricatured, which again helped us to understand their stories. E.g. the acrobat had pig tails so symbolize her young age, and the ballerina was forced to wear very revealing clothes, although she tried to cover herself with a coat all the time.

Dramatugry:

Since it is a theater concert, there's no clear story line. Sometimes it got a little too absurd, and it was difficult to figure out what message they tried to send. But I personally liked the idea of showing the gloomy side of the life in circus, since it shows the audience things they've never realized until now about the performer's lives, plus it made it easy to get into some strong emotions among the performers. One thing I found annoying was; way too many quiet numbers. I'd love to see more than only two songs with some power in them.

The Music:

The music impressed me as well. They were spot on trying to find the joyful, but still sad sound of the circus music. The work with the songs from Sebastian's songs turned out so well, and everything fit into the show. Especially the lyrics.

Another thing I liked about the music was, that the musicians were a part of the show, as well as the actors were a part of the band. In one scene, the guitarist ran around as a circus horse. In another, the bearded lady and the ballerina played saw together.

All of the characters had at least one song about themselves. But when it was a song about the general life in circus, it was a member of the band who sang, while the acrobat performed etc. When all the singers sang at the same time, they still made the song into their own small story about themselves.

The Goosebumps:

The opening scene was amazing, and definitely gave me goosebumps. Every single performer sad in their own box, and it was a very good way to present each of them. While they sat in their boxes, they were singing a beautiful song called "Når lyset bryder frem" (When the light shines through). I immediately felt pity for all of them, because it was so clear what a struggle their lives were.

Final review:

I definitely recommend this show to you guys. Even though it is very absurd and dealing with some strong emotions, it's an amazing experience. All human needs some of the same basic things in life, and this play shows that. Besides, the music is great, and you can think the lyrics over and over because they're so well-written.

Go see it!