In literature we would call it a bestseller. And on stage a triumph that is as lasting as it is modestly justified. It has now been almost ten years since the Australian company Gravity & Other Myths, founded in 2009, was founded A simple room. A harvest that covers all continents and has already crossed 34 countries with a total of almost a thousand performances. And everywhere, we imagine, the same cross-generational fervor. Yesterday in the USA, Canada or even China, the agile troupe returns to the marquee area of La Villette, where they had previously left their suitcases.
Four years later Backbone, In a slightly tighter format (seven circus performers instead of ten, one musician instead of two), the acrobats return to impress the gallery in a limited space (a kind of ring, almost square), which seems to encourage them to redouble their ingenuity . “Something visceral, not brain” explains the company’s statement of intent. “Instead of covering up the performance with makeup, lighting and artificial staging, we consciously decided to go in the opposite direction.” Which adds even more to the fact that in the recommended state of destitute we have nothing to do but appreciate the truly breathtaking acrobatic exercises in which the smile erases the very idea of effort, however obvious.
The cheerfully regressive show suggests a dizzying playground where, alongside rare accessories, skipping ropes like colored balls thrown at each other encourage the five boys and two girls to challenge each other as competitors equally united in winning the challenge from the moment the figures, sometimes towering several meters above the ground, require it. At the end of the show, the Adelaide relay team even made the effort to greet the audience as they exited the marquee. They don’t look any more exhausted than the people who just cheered them on.
