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Adelaide Fringe 2013

Leo

Arts Project Australia

Genre: Physical Theatre

Venue: The Vagabond – The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park, East Terrace, Adelaide

Festival:


Low Down

A lone man experiments and plays with the changing laws of gravity with often hilarious results; however, he slowly descends into madness and confusion when he tries in vain to correct his world. Astounding acrobatics and a simple yet clever way of creating illusions that tease the eye and mind.

Review

The story starts with a solitary young man waiting for someone or something in a dingy room with a flickering light bulb. Annoyed at the bulb and slightly impatient he tries to amuse himself, but soon notices that all is not quite right. His hat falls to the wall rather than the floor, his suitcase remains propped up against the wall no matter what, and he can twist and turn in the air without crashing to the ground!

Although alarmed at first, this becomes a game—with a piece of chalk he draws a scene on a wall and this unexpectedly comes to life; his suitcase plays music, encases a saxophone, and finally becomes a portal to another world. This surreal evolution of the scene and the new laws of gravity eventually consume the young man and he descends into madness.

This contemporary illusion is fascinating to watch and perplexing at times—the unique set up of the stage allows the audience to see the performance enacted out in reality, while at the same time perceive the illusion created on the screen where the performance is simultaneously projected from a different angle. It is a mind-blowing and extraordinary technique that astounded the viewers.

Tobias Wegner is extremely entertaining and a talented actor—his display of discernable facial expressions and movements conveyed the moods, and his deceptive acrobatics were fascinating to behold. Although this is a contemporary performance, he brings vintage style of comedy and graceful movements to the performance. Although the scene where he spirals out of control is prolonged and wearying the illusion and acrobatics are timed to perfection.

Despite the fact that the show is entertaining and comedic it raises the question of how perspectives can change—we take everything we see at face value but shift the viewpoint slightly and it becomes something else…this performance is upfront about the illusion, simple, clever and entertaining. Initially difficult to choose between watching the live action or the projection, the audience is soon swept into the world created on the screen and appreciates the illusion.

Published

Show Website

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