Pitch [FringeTIX]
TOS’T @ Gluttony (The Bally)
5:30pm, Sat 19 Feb 2011
TOS’T is a young company borne of the National Institute of Circus Arts and, on the strength of this performance, one that we’ll be hearing from a lot more in the future. Because these youngsters, whilst lacking the polish and sheen of the more established circus shows in town at the moment, bring forth a freshness and enthusiasm and – yes – even something new to the table.
The four members of TOS’T – Tom (red), Ollie (yellow), Steph (purple) and Ty (green) – begin the performance with a tumbling and balance act that makes them look like a very acrobatic Wiggles contingent; all very competently performed, and certainly entertaining to the children present, but yet to win me over. The first segment, featuring Ty tumbling his way through a jungle chase, failed to impress – but it paved the way for the rest of the show, because it introduced the idea of narrative within the sets of tricks.
Another balance set with all four performers saw a fantastic three-high human structure that almost touched the roof of The Bally; a bit of juggling, including a great bit with the meteors, also impressed… as did the series of hat tricks. But it was the noir-themed risley segment – Ollie on his back, juggling and flipping Steph with his feet – that was absolutely amazed; I can’t recall having seen anything like it, certainly in recent years. The fact that Steph had a heavy tumble, and came straight back to attempt an even sterner challenge, was gobsmacking – and worthy of many more plaudits than my words can convey.
Despite – and maybe because of – the odd spill, I really, really liked TOS’T – after a slowish start, their enthusiasm completely won me over. Ollie is an incredible frontman, with an elastic face tailor-made for mugging to the crowd, milking applause. And with a selection of music that was partly sourced from anime and videogames, I’m even more endeared. Throw in some decent-to-stunning circus and clowning skills and you’ve got a great show.
I saw this troupe after getting inspiration from FF’s review. They clearly have played with the format as the mentioned human structure was missing. The theatrical side with the rope & two chairs was funny. Leaps & jumps classy. The trapeze act however seemed a bit pointless. Loved the closeness – it felt like a very personal performance.
Hello LJ – thanks for finally posting under a semblance of your real name ;)