Humans 2.0 is a tight 70-minute circus show comprising ten highly skilled performers and presented by Circa at Arts Centre Melbourne. Directed by Yaron Lifschitz, the performance takes place on a bare stage marked only by a white circle with banks of lighting around the outer periphery.
Choosing to see this work on a Saturday matinee away from the hullabaloo of opening night – surrounded by families and children – it's clear that Circa has created a real crowd-pleaser. Yes, the physicality is impressive and the stunts are jaw-dropping, but whether or not it reaches the lofty heights of “examining the human condition” remains in question.
Part of this problem lies in the fact that as audiences, we are bearing witness to performers who are nothing short of superhuman. These ten bodies create towering structures and tableaux, each successive passage of movement like waves of varying intensities coming along to wipe the slate clean.
As a genre circus is often a tricky wheel to re-invent. It’s bound by the parameters of different acts and tricks, such as acrobatics and aerial, and further complicating any attempts to do so are the time and training it takes to undertake such feats.
Humans 2.0 is at its best when leaning further into its choreographic language, which is a signature of this company. In these briefest of moments we come closest as an audience to an examination of the human condition. Without these passages all that remains is a very lean show consisting solely of a regimented presentation of circus acts.
But it could be argued that it’s within reflection and this contrast, and witnessing these athletes who have trained for years defying gravity and performing heart-stopping stunts, that we come closest to seeing ourselves. It's a perplexing conundrum.
The ensemble, as expected, are world-class and brimming with talent and dedication to their craft. They are, however, ultimately let down by other production elements.
The music and sound composition created by Ori Lichtik is at times emotive, but needs to temper its edges and find greater depth, light and shade. Currently the composition here is incredibly one note with motifs repeated in sections to near agonising effect.
Paul Jackson’s lighting design begins with literal flashes of brilliance, but it too seems to lack a real sense of depth and wonder that is so instrumental to the experience of the human condition.
Circa is one of Australia’s pre-eminent circus companies and emerged at the crux of major cultural transformation across its hometown of Brisbane, alongside the opening of other arts institutions such as the Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane Powerhouse and GOMA. Now, 20 years on, the energy of the company continues to be buoyed by the energy that transfixed Brisbane at the time.
Humans 2.0 is not without its problems, but is also not without merit. Best engaged with on a superficial level, it's physically brilliant but at times tries too hard to be something that it’s not.
Humans 2.0 is showing at the Playhouse Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne until May 24. For more information and to book your tickets, head to the website.
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