The audience at last night's Irish premiere of Le Cri du Cameleon at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght stamped and roared its approval of the 10 amazingly-talented young performers.
This show, in which juggling, acrobatics, dance and clowning are so inextricably mixed that one such talent is never displayed alone for more than a few minutes at a time, is so slickly and professionally choreographed and directed by Joseph Nadj that it is hard to believe it began as an end-of-term project when these same artistes were studying at the National Centre for Circus Arts.
Goury's staging concept allows for multiple uses of everything. A masking flat is a prop-container is a vaulting-horse, a table is a tray is a platform and a see-saw, is a spring board, is a balance. A juggler's Indian club becomes a clown's cudgel and a ball can change its use in mid-flight. All performers switch from deeds of daring to clowning at the drop of a hat, incorporating the spins, turns and lifts of contemporary dance and even a fish-dive, though unsuitable for inclusion in The Nutcracker.
The music hall, bowler hat routine which inspired a sequence in Waiting For Godot is here expanded to heights - and depths - Vladimir and Estragon would be incapable of. There is a brilliantly-inventive dance for two men and a dummy, while false heads and extra shoes confuse us as to which and whose end is uppermost. As if this were not enough, the performers provide their own live music in addition to the recorded score by Stevan Kovak Tickmayer. This must be the most original and funny use of circus skills ever. Don't miss it.
Runs until Monday
The Dublin Theatre Festival booking number is 01- 874 8525
