Model Citizens

Model Citizens
Circus Oz. Sydney Festival Circus City. Prince Alfred Square, Parramatta, Sydney. Jan 2-28, 2018

Notions of national identity and what it means to be a good - indeed a model - citizen are all around us. Circus Oz believes that these notions should be inclusive - rather than exclusive. It’s no coincidence that they’re running an appeal for the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, with audience members encouraged to donate money after the show.

Model Citizens set these themes in a model-kit world representing our everyday lives: oversized clothes pegs, safety pins, credit cards, even underwear. Acrobats perform amongst these objects with typical Circus Oz humour (they’re cheeky, irreverent, larrikin). There are also a couple of witty songs: one woman sings about intolerance while strumming a banjo; a man about how he worships his barbecue.

This is the first Circus Oz production under new artistic director Rob Tannion. It was first performed last year and is now headlining Sydney Festival’s Circus City in Parramatta. The show is a clever idea that resonates strongly. It’s brilliantly executed by a true ensemble of performers - and a wonderful live band.

The first half of the show falters occasionally. Some of the acts - such as the knife-throwing and an trampolining scene using a giant clothes peg - are not exciting enough. Even though they’re no doubt difficult to execute, they’re underwhelming.

They also pale in comparison to the strongest parts of the first act, including an amazing hula-hoop scene by Freyja Edney. There’s also an hilarious animals performance, with lambs and dog played by actors (there are no real animals at this circus). One of the lambs (Tania Cervantes Chamorro) completes an impressive act with aerial silks.

The second act is brilliant. Jarred Dewey doesn’t put a foot wrong, wearing red stilettos as he swings on the trapeze, and Alex Weibel Weibel is wonderful on the slack ropes. He draws gasps when he begins playing a violin while still maintaining his balance.

The highlight is fittingly the last act - an ensemble acrobatics performance from a rope bridge. It’s a huge amount of fun.

While there is room to improve parts of this show, it’s a strong start for Tannion. Circus Oz found a larrikin niche many years ago and has built on that with every new work. Model Citizens, with its generous and fun spirit, sits nicely in the canon.

Peter Gotting

Photographer: Jamie Williams

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