Circus spectacle celebrates surrealism

By Jessica Cornish

La Verità – directed, choreographed and written by internationally renowned creator Daniele Finzi Pasca, and inspired by Salvador Dali’s surrealist depiction of the fraught love story between Tristan and Isolde – was a visually stunning production, with breath-taking acts executed by well-seasoned performers.

Travelling with an incredibly strong cast of 13 acrobats, musicians, clowns and dancers, La Verità morphed the State Theatre into a beautiful melancholic circus, with sumptuously rich scenery often silhouetted by the beaming golden cyc cloth hanging upstage. The performance work also incorporated trance-like shadow theatre, stark imagery, contrasting bold lighting states, shapes and the morphing of colours powerfully and continuously throughout the two acts.

La Verità’s aerial acts were particularly stunning, featuring double-helix ladders spiralling through the air, ultraviolet-lit hula hoops dancing across the stage, and the incredible acrobats illustrating human form at its peak of perfection. The performance also included one of the best choreographed and most intricate and quirky juggling scenes I have ever seen, and a wonderfully cringe-worthy contortionist, to name only a few memorable moments. My only criticism of the performances was that Act One heavily relied on comedic relief to transition between items: I didn’t really find the shiny silvery characters very funny, and felt the slapstick humour a little lame and unnecessary at times; however, my companion clearly enjoyed the glittery clowns, so maybe I just need to adopt a better sense of humour!

Meanwhile, the comedic narrators provided some background information on Salvador Dali through a mix of English, French and Spanish ramblings, retelling remarkable snippets of his life such as the time he tried to present a lecture in a diving suit and nearly suffocated in the process. To further accentuate Dali’s work and influence, some of his other famous iconic images were also smattered throughout the items, such as the melting away of time and the recurring rhinoceros, (he believed the latter’s patterned horn possessed the same logarithm as both cauliflowers and sunflowers…!)

A captivating and stunning night of entertainment, overall – if you are a lover of all things circus and beautiful, go see this show!

VENUE
State Theatre
DATES
Friday 22 January, 7:30pm
Saturday 23 January, 2pm
Saturday 23 January, 7:30pm
PRICE RANGE*
Premium: $85
A Reserve: $65
B Reserve: $45
Under 30: $30 (strictly limited)
Concession and family tickets available
BOOKINGS
Phone: 1300 182 183

https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/circus-physical-theatre/la-verita