Showing @ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh until Mon 25 Aug (not 12) @ 15:30
Companies like Cirque du Soleil have turned circus into a very grand affair, but Familia de la Noche’s captivating performance doesn’t need the large scale to be impressive. Presented as kind of olden age circus show we are supposed to be dazzled by the deceitful skills of The Greatest Liar in All the World, but sadly he doesn’t feel up to it. Instead, along with four other performers, he acts out his life story – explaining how he earned his rather unusual title.
Along with the usual circus-style patter, the show uses an entrancing fusion of puppetry, dance, shadow puppetry and music to enact the fantastical story, enhanced by costumes that don’t scream ‘magical’ but hint at it with a pleasing uncertainty. The plot resembles a modern day fairytale, incorporating talking animals, celestial beings and peculiar happenings. It’s a winning combination as the show has just the right balance of bizarre circumstance and human emotion to make you care about the protagonist while also staying exciting. The episodic flow keeps the tempo energetic, added to by the constantly changing roster of wonderfully silly characters. Ostensibly a children’s show, it’s performed with such skilful showmanship by all it will keep people of any age entertained.