This is a new show from Ether productions, who previously produced ‘Mirror, Mirror‘, the sell out show in last years Fringe festival. As you enter the Space Upstairs in the Project you see a variety of platforms have been created above the stage. When your eyes adjust to the light in the darkened space, you slowly realize that the four acrobats are already on set, hanging suspended in various poses. The piece starts as one of the acrobats wakes and moves through the group, watching the others as they sleep. She moves around the scaffolds, as the others emerge from their slumber and the story of this strange group plays out.

This show is set in a post apocalyptic world, with two men and two women ‘A wild girl, a wistful opera singer, a forlorn gardener and an errant business man’ all trapped in this strange domain. The performers meet, fight, form alliances and loves on the various structures that dangle from the ceiling of the Project. Dry ice is pumped out below the elevated stages, to form the cloud kingdom in which the acrobats interact.

The narrative in this piece is slight and no words are spoken, but it holds together the various strands and gives structure to the interactions of the protagonists. It is mostly about the skill and dexterity of the performers in this ‘aerial circus’ who dance on chains, ropes, hoops and all manner of other apparatus high above the audience. They are a hugely skilled group, and their movements to the original score composed by Aidan O’Brien are dazzling at times. It builds from a slow beginning to include a number of mesmerizing displays of power and grace.

Ether Productions present Landfall at the Project Arts Centre, Space Upstairs, until August 10th. Tickets are €16/14.

Credits:

Writer and Director – by Niamh Creely

Choreography – Niamh Creely, Aisling ní Cheallaigh, Jonathan Walsh and Timmy O’Sullivan

Light and Set Design – Pauric Hackett

Costume Design – Annique van Niekerk

Composer – Aidan O’Brien

Producer – Lisa Fox

Cast: Aisling ní Cheallaigh, Niamh Creely, Timmy O’Sullivan and Jonathan Walsh.