Review: The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half, Underbelly’s Circus Hub

“My heart is like a window to hope that refuses to close.” The show opens with this voiceover as a vertical pole walker falls backwards from a great height into the waiting arms of her comrades. This is certainly a show which draws oohs and aahs, and the occasional gasp, from the crowd.

Dressed in contemporary costumes with flashes of traditional Bedouin fabrics and keffiyeh inventively sewn in unexpected flourishes, the troupe exercises its arts through a storyline loosely sketched around a courtship and wedding. Long white aerial silks are draped over a performer’s shoulder like a wedding dress before being flown to the rafters for an acrobatic stint while dancers with baskets of flowers strew petals below. Fire poi briefly becomes an open-air campfire between the bride and groom.

The show refers lightly to the occupation of Palestine through statements like “Through every fall, I learn,” “Every heart deserves peace – every child deserves peace,” and most of all, “Joy is an act of resistance.” The dabkeh interspersed throughout is the primary vehicle for this joy, raising the tempo and transforming a performance into a celebration.

The show includes, without a doubt, the best diabolo routine I’ve ever seen, and the silks work is sublime. Fire poi and a dark routine with illuminated juggling rings are further highlights of the troupe’s circus technique. The skill and precision in each of the dabkeh dancing sections is dazzling. The juggling isn’t as crisp as it could be, and parts of the pole walking might have been done hands-free by a more confident performer – but the show’s artistic message isn’t diminished by these minor detractions; indeed, a more technically precise show would perhaps miss the point of struggle, resilience, and a determination to hold on to joy through adverse circumstances.

The music is wonderful, blending high-energy contemporary electronic dabkeh with traditional ballads. Clever lighting means that even those sitting with slightly obscured views from corner angles can still enjoy the shadow play of the performers on a large scrim. Nonetheless, I recommend arriving early enough to enjoy the full view. 

Following the show, the artistic director emerged to introduce us to the performers and point out the incredible difficulty of getting this show on tour outside Palestine. It took a year of coordinated efforts to get them here. If you see one show this Fringe, make it this one: you may not get another chance.

At Everything Theatre, we reserve five stars for the performances which will stay with us not just for the season, but forever: this was certainly one of those.

Executive Director: Mohamad Rabah
Produced by The Palestinian Circus with Medical Aid for Palestinians

The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half runs at The Underbelly Circus Hub until Saturday 29 August