CIRCA – Opus at The Lowry Manchester Review
CIRCA – Opus
The Lowry, Manchester
8-9 May 2015
Reviewed by Hannah Abbott
CIRCA is a team of acrobatic dancers joined by a string quartet for 80 minutes of moving performance.
Unfortunately, seating position at the Lowry is an important feature of this performance which is why no one was sat in the high balcony. I was sat in a similar position to all other shows I have seen in the Lyric theatre and never had a problem with seeing the performance until last night. When the show first starts an acrobat enters the stage behind the string quartet and until she went high up I couldn’t see her which put a dampener on the performance.
As with any show there were a few misses or mistakes but all of the dancers continued as though it was a faultless performance – definitely a sign of true professionalism.
Although I don’t think that this performance was my cup of tea I did find that the lifts, swings and other eye popping dance moves did keep my eyes fixated on the stage for the first half of the performance. However, after watching 40 minutes of an 80 minute performance it started to feel very repetitive. Even with research we couldn’t find whether the dance was supposed to represent something, whether it was telling a story and after watching the whole performance I am still none the wiser.
There seemed to be a wide variety of people within the audience with a number of children present, although I don’t know how they found it we personally thought that it was too long for a younger audience (it was too long full stop in our opinion).
Overall the performance was good, I think a number of people were disappointed because it was so difficult to follow, we started the show not understanding what to expect and left not understanding what we had just watched. However, this wasn’t how the company were received by the audience, their dance was truly amazing although shaky at times they received a long clap at the end of the performance but barely any standing ovation.
Clearly talented performers but difficult to see and follow at times.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £18 to £23 (includes £2 booking fee).
CIRCA – Opus is at The Lowry in Manchester until 9 May 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0843 208 6000.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
