Saturday, April 28, 2012

Live Streaming: Cirkus Cirkör

[post 267]

I'm a fan of Sweden's Cirkus Cirkör, as evidenced by these two previous posts, and I'm sorry I'll be out of town and miss their return this June to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I was, however, delighted to see that my favorite British newspaper, the Guardian, did a live stream of their show Undermän when it was featured at the London Roundhouse as part of their 2012 CircusFest. Better yet, you can still see the full 74-minute piece for free online — full-screen, high-rez!

Undermän means understander, the base of an acrobatic "pyramid" act, and this is not a full-scale Cirkus Cirkör ensemble production, but rather an intimate piece of circus-theatre about three burly guys who lose their partners but find themselves. Yeah, not exactly physical comedy, but a sweet piece of work filled with some dazzling skills. Here's the official promo blurb:


Undermän is the true story of three male pair acrobats who lost their partners, and consequently their careers and dreams as well. They have lived a life supporting, balancing, lifting and saving their cherished ones. But who is there to support an abandoned underman?
In a quest to regain their zest for life, they decide to create something completely new. Together with the well-worn musician Andreas, they throw themselves into a performance full of truths, hidden talents, male strength, kettlebell choreography, live music, failure, an austere sense of humour and an important story to tell. They break all the rules by letting the stronghold outshine the embellishment and making sensitivity as important as strength. With raw strength, fragility, defiance, melancholy, cockiness and a need for revenge they now take a big step into the limelight to meet audiences as well as themselves in a surprising performance that is sure to move you to the core.

First here's a preview:




And here's the full-length piece, very well captured in a multi-camera shoot; click on icon bottom-right for full screen.

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