Showing @ Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Wed 31 Jul – Sun 25 Aug (not 12, 19) @ 14:35
It has, rather appropriately, been 13 years since Moscow-based company blackSKywhite first appeared on the Fringe to terrify and amaze audiences with Bertrand’s Toys. In the intervening years, they have toured the world and other companies have perhaps become better known on the Fringe. But Omega is a very welcome reminder of just how high that bar has been set.
In a month when the city abounds with jugglers and acrobats, it is worth noting that Omega is not a circus show. Rather, it is a movement and dance piece that evokes a stylised circus, the freak shows of the past and a nightmarish post-Apocalyptic carnival. And yet the physical skill on offer here is no less impressive. Put simply, it is often impossible to believe that human beings can actually move like this. It is also rare to see a production as technically polished as this. Movement, music (specially composed by Michael Begg), sound and lighting all seamlessly combine to create something far more than a show: this is a true theatrical experience.
Saw it at Glastonbury a month or so ago. Still can’t get some of the images and music out of my head. So much performance art has pretensions towards the macabre and you’re often required to suspend your disbelief and play along. No need here, it’s genuinely nightmarish at points and laugh out loud funny elsewhere.