A term most often associated with sporting tournaments, the Race Horse Company offer their very own Royal Knockout consisting of the brave, the hilarious and the out right daring in their latest production, Super Sunday.
Starting off the steadily adrenaline fuelled production, The Race Horse Company comically present 6 jockeys proudly trotting onto the stage with their horse inspired attire. Setting the tone for the evening, this Grand National inspired sequence adorns the evening with a tongue and cheek feel. What the company excel in is bringing the audience into their reality, it’s a surreal fairground-esque playground of the experimental, wrapped up in a bundle of autheticity.
Huge Teddy Bears catapult into the unknown, cast members somersault from a height effortlessly onto a crash mat onstage, the ensemble back flip hypnotically from two opposing trampolines, adding colourful ball pond balls to further contribute to that signature feeling of fun the cast continually endorse. Highlights of the evening include a cast member being strapped onto the outside of 1 of 2 rotating rings by nothing more than a strap and cling film. This shows the outright gumption the cast have in what they do, pushing themselves to daring possibilities. Another witnesses a cast member, hilariously kitted up in a revealing 1 piece swimsuit being flung over a piece of apparatus into the unknown. This is without shadow of a doubt awe inspiring, and has hearts racing at the sheer bravery of the stunt.
The audience comprises of a range of ages and backgrounds witnessing the performance, and this is testament to the power of Circus Fest, and how it champions exciting and new voices. The evening is accessible, there are no airs, no graces and although some of the stunts appear out of reach, the ensemble’s authenticity calls out to the audience, inspiring young artists. The evening is stripped back, and doesn’t feel like a performance which in itself is a luxury. Super Sunday reminds us that theatre is play, it is unpredictable and malleable and this is what it’s meant to be. The only downside; as certain sequences are often repetitive, they begin to lose their magic. This is a show with a reckless charm and for all of the family. 3.5/5
Review written by Lucy Basaba.
Super Sunday is currently showing at the Roundhouse as part of this year’s Circus Fest until Saturday 16th April. For more information on the production, visit here…
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