Adelaide Fringe 2015
Smashed
Gandini Juggling
Genre: Circus
Venue: Panama Club, Royal Croquet Club
Festival: Adelaide Fringe
Low Down
If you’re into juggling, and just juggling, then Smashed certainly delivers. Set in the very inviting Panama Club, with a great swing sound track, this group of talented jugglers really know how to put on a show. While the juggling isn’t as exceptional as one might expect for an all-juggling and nothing else show, what is remarkable is that while juggling three or so apples, each actor manages to interact with the next and the audience without missing a beat.
Review
In any circus show you’re going to expect the odd ball, or in this case apple, falling, but the way the group delivered each recovery was a show in itself – so much so that we just wanted them to drop more apples.
Combing a sophisticated array of vintage outfits, against a great sound track, the cast of Smashed juggled their way through a successful 55 minutes of partner, trio and ensemble juggling, throwing apples, interacting with each other, stealing apples and eating apples. They juggled while sitting, standing, dancing, walking and everything else.
While it was mostly three apples being juggled, towards the end they raised the bar and attempted juggling something like six or seven apples while being distracted by the other artists. Certainly a feat for anyone!
And then came the ‘smashing’ bit. I was so enthralled in their skills that I forgot all about the title of the show until in a fit of rage and chaos the cast smashed apples, plates and teacups to a very entertained audience.
Why they smashed everything, I’m not sure, but it didn’t matter – we loved every minute of it! If you need to see something more than just juggling, then you’ll be disappointed – but if watching a juggling act for an hour sounds like your cup of tea, then make sure you see Smashed!
