Barricade (From The Argus)
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Barricade
4:10pm Saturday 5th May 2012 in Previews By Dominic Smith
Barricade
If you decide to attempt the moves No Fit State circus has lined up for Barricade, things soon become weather dependent.
“There are lots of swinging acrobats and it is all very high energy,” says creative director Ali Williams.
“But we have a contingency plan if the weather is bad: we will do the show on Sunday.”
The trade off is viewers get to see far more than traditional circus.
“It is large-scale outdoor theatre,” adds Williams.
“We do high-wire five metres high. We do big aerial moments and there are lots of acrobatics.”
Building on their Parklife show from Brighton Festival 2010, Barricade will see No Fit State constructing a giant aerial playground that dissects the audience in half.
Two trucks are parked back-to-back to create a blockage.
Wires and tyres are unrolled, which obstruct daily routines and paths.
The wind rises and ladders are used to build a barricade from the storm.
Twelve performers then swing on a giant rig that takes a day and a half to construct.
It is 45 metres across and ten metres high.
Three musicians add a live mix of Balkan beats, Klezmer, rock, folk and circus music composed by Peter Reynolds.
Williams says the music helps to drive the story along.
“The performance carries a narrative which is told through the performers and the music,” says Williams.
“It is about people overcoming individual barriers and walls, the fears that stop individuals finding their paths. People fighting for freedom.”
No Fit State used 2010’s Parklife as a research and development process.
They met with community groups in Brighton to see what they could learn about outdoor circus performance.
Williams says Barricade includes new ideas they garnered from free running groups in the city.
It also concentrates on creating characters the audience cares for, not just performers to admire from a distance.
Hove Park, Hove, Saturday, May 5
Free, 9pm. Call 01273 709709
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