A enchanting visual reminder of the magic of live performance, gleefully reminding audiences of enthralling childhood wonder that fills you with warm delight.
Presented by: Acrobuffos
Reviewed: 16 March, 2023
Air Play is simply a mesmerisingly magical journey, reminding the audience of the beauty of live performance as two siblings embark on a (literal) whirlwind journey that highlights the simplistic beauty of air and props in enchanting ways.
Air Play is a whimsical whirlwind of a journey with dancing umbrellas, glitter tornadoes that reach the ceiling, and silken material that dances captivatingly above the audience. This is to the utter delight of both children and adults alike, as chuckles and gasps of awe fill the theatre. It’s glorious to see adults reverting back to curious kids who are captivated by this light-hearted production.
The utilisation of fans and large wind machines to bring swirling, animated life to a variety of props is the highlight of the show. These are first introduced to the audience at the beginning as a circle of fans animatedly propels two pieces of opaque, silken-like material up into the air in a mesmerisingly unpredictable duet dance. A whirlwind of balloons and glitter also has jaws gaping in wonder, and the creation of a contained snow storm is a magical way to end the show. At one point the largest piece of silky-looking, silver material is manipulated on either end by the performers, creating a gigantic, moving figure of a jellyfish-like creature that’s gently floating through the ocean.
Amusement and humour are found in the tasteful clowning and physical theatrical comedy performed by the two actors. Exaggerated facial expressions, exciting acrobatic duets, light-hearted clowning routines depicting the siblings play fighting, and even being swallowed up by human-size balloons keep the audience comically amused throughout the night.
Those seated in the front rows are also not immune from the performer’s physical comedy as they swiftly climb between rows while hunting down balloons, and even thoughtfully re-adjust some audience members hairstyles with a mini leaf-blower (to the delightful amusement of the rest of the theatre).
There is no actual dialogue in the production, aside from a couple of one-word comedic audience interactions and entertaining sound effects from the performers. Instead, the spectacular visuals and amusing physical theatre routines are performed to a variety of emotion-drawing music. These include upbeat tunes highlighting an lively Irish fiddle, Luciano Pavarotti singing the dramatic climax of Nessun Dorma, intense songs like Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down), and the emotionally moving vocals of a children’s choir.
Air Play is a spectacularly enchanting reminder of the magic of live performance and the joy that simple visual spectacle can bring, gleefully reminding adult audience members of enthralling childhood wonder that fills you with warm delight.
Reviewed by Georgina Smerd
Photo credit: Florence Montmare
Venue: Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: 15 – 19 March, 2023
Duration: 1 hour (no interval)
Tickets: $20 – $69
Bookings: https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/air-play/
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