Noodles @ Jacksons Lane Theatre (London International Mime Festival) Review

Noodles may well be the wackiest show I have seen in London for a very long time. NoFit State Circus, a UK company, yet presenting only foreign performers, created this contemporary circus piece around noodles and five bizarre characters obsessed with it. These strings that look like noodles are everywhere on stage, almost as if one is entering Noodle land.

Noodles

As contemporary circus never really does have a plot or storyline it can’t be judged on that account. However, as the performers very cleverly opt to have characters it would be quite innovative if they keep them in every circus skill demonstration. The characters are what make this show come alive. As strange and as over the top as they may be, they are incredibly fun to watch, and the more you see them the more you want to know what they will do next. However this clowning work doesn’t always work, so as much as I applaud them for taking that risk, I still believe there is room for improvement.

Four fashionable girls and the technician are introduced to us in a very loud and Spanish way. “The brownies” are Cristina Geninazzi and Zenaida Alcalde and they do most of the clowning in the show – they are the definition of wild and fun rolling around in the mountains of noodles making impressions and playing. The blondies, Klara Mossberg and Lisa Angberg, have the more quiet characters yet the more impressive numbers as Mossberg walks and jumps on the wire and Angberg beautifully balances on her hands – together they make a great duo. Miguel Muñoz Segura is the technician – the magician – and he is quite charming in his awkward ways, in the way he laughs to the audience and impresses us with his magic tricks.

It is lovely to see the building of a relationship between the technician and Mossberg’s character, starting with simple eye contact, and ending in a quirky dinner date. Suddenly another exquisite image is created as Mossberg walks the wire in a white flowing dress as the other characters place fans underneath blowing some wind. The funniest parts of the show are when we see a character struggling, either by the thousand noodle strings being thrown at them whilst they are trying to stand on their hands or the dress being blown up as they walk the wire.

The blondies, the brownies and the magician/technician certainly offer an entertaining night at the theatre/circus and as bizarre as it all may be, and as random as a theme such as noodles is, it all comes together and makes some sense in the moment and it sure makes me smile. 4/5

Review written by Sofia Moura.

Noodles is currently showing as part of this year’s London International Mime Festival at Jacksons Lane Theatre until Saturday 31st January. For more information on the production, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop