Reviews & features: Physical theatre

It’s So Nice

Irreverent and beguiling history play

Part physical theatre, part clowning about, this bilingual show that takes a look at the relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin Elizabeth I is an absolute delight. It takes the form of a history play-cum-lecture-cum-travelogue as…

Didj Wentworth of cabaret outfit La Clique - interview

The slippery performer hares his love of Thai food, Little Dragon and Pretty Woman

First record you ever bought INXS the Kick album. Last extravagant purchase you made M-one-11 shirt bought last week, impulse buy. First film you saw that really moved you Pretty Woman. Last lie you told The last question. I don’t…

Australian company Casus bring physical performance Knee Deep to Fringe 2012

Festival show takes gymnastics and feats of strength to new level

How do you assemble a circus show when those involved are all busy with projects abroad? Skype’s fine for generating ideas, says Jesse Scott of Casus, but this newly-formed Australian company’s inaugural show, Knee Deep didn’t begin to find its legs…

Machines for Living explodes some the myths surrounding British architecture

New architecture-themed physical theatre show at 2012 Edinburgh Fringe

It’s become commonplace to denigrate the Brutalist 1960s tower blocks that now characterise the British urban skyline. But Let Slip, a theatre group formed by graduates from the Jacques Lecoq Theatre School in Paris, are seeking to combat these…

Pas Perdus

Delightful family-friendly clowning

The booming voiceover that introduces this charming piece of physical theatre is that of a hypnotist inducing the calm of sleep on its audience. What then transpires is the appearance of a dream world, though the night visions we experience are far from…

Cento Cose marks multimedia dance debut for physical theatre collective

Award-winning look at day-to-day life with Aphex Twin score

Italian physical theatre collective Compagnia della Quarta’s multimedia Fringe debut is based on the idea that there are ‘cento cose’ (‘one hundred things’ in Italian) that contemporary life requires us to do each working day. ‘We started with “we do…

Zeitgeist

Breathtaking Butoh bento box

This is the first time Australian company, Zen Zen Zo has come to the Fringe, but they’re no blushing debutants. Zeitgeist is a retrospective of their shorter works inspired by the untamed Japanese art form of Butoh. But it’s also a pulse check, a look…

The Red Room

19th century decadence and decay

For years, the Traverse has been synonymous with ground-breaking, innovative theatre. And while it regularly shows dance throughout the year, when it comes to the Fringe, it’s drama all the way. Until now. When the David Hughes Dance Company delivers…

Kataklo Athletic Dance Theatre - Love Machines

Art-inspired precision

Nearly five hundred years after his death, the creative genius of Leonardo da Vinci continues to exert influence. Most recently on Italian company, Kataklo, who blend athletic physical dexterity with an appreciation of art. ‘I’ve always had a great…

Bodies in motion

Five of the best physical theatre shows

Cocorico: Funny French mime in the company of celebrated physical comedian Patrice Thibaud and acrobatic pianist Phillipe Leygnac. First Class: The acclaimed international company Half-Wit Theatre brings its wonderfully creative brand of physical…

The Voice of Things - Toilet Paper

The solo performer waters her toilet rolls, wears a toilet paper skirt and crown, drapes toilet paper across the stage and generally loses herself, and the audience, in the slow and painful process. Are Underbelly trying to fill their rooms or just…