This Christmas there’s a comfortable opportunity to sit back in the cosy Brighton Dome and look up and be inspired by this gentle take on the interconnections and communal links that we all share. This superb company of world-class performers, musicians and acrobats are the crew from FLOWN which was a great success at Brighton Festival 2014 and again at Brighton Dome in 2015.
And now they’re back with this enchanting show with an interesting mechanical set which twists and rolls into different situations and a hypnotic live music set with strong echoes of the repetitive reveries of the Penguin Café Orchestra. HOME delves into the gently strange lives of a neighbourhood of acrobats who, in the course of a day’s misadventures, discover surprising new connections with each other, and with the world outside.
Performed with heartfelt humour Pirates of the Carabina (gotta love that pun) bring to the stage all the skills, quirks and qualities that make their shows more than the sum of their individual performers. It brought forth genuine giggles and laughter from my companion and it’s a cool show which can make folk laugh with these kind of top notch acrobatic skills.
Featuring vertical-swinging trapeze, never-ending ropes, a spinning carousel, some fun manic roller-skating and a funny adventure onto a wobbly and temperamental staircase, HOME presents a playful, poignant tale about the futility of grand plans, and the joys of letting go, and although the narrative is slightly vague on occasion, the magic, charm and pure physicality of this group of young, multi skilled performers impresses.
We left with a smile, wandering out in the crisp Brighton winter night heart-warmed and charmed, this is a delightful show and a delightful alternative way to spend some festive time in the theatre with your younger (or older) family members.
