Index – Culture – This is how people would be reborn if the world were to perish

Special is more interesting than perfect. Man was created in such a way that he does not like boring things, he always longs for something new, something exciting, but he is also afraid of it. That certain “which finger should I bite?” feeling. Stay with the familiar, comforting experience, or open your mind to the unknown? The latter wins. Because people are curious, and curiosity pays off. And when you let go of preconceived notions, magnificent and magical things can unfold before your eyes. But the unfolding is not finite: an endless store of impulses awaits the one who chooses this path. THE Paradise and that’s exactly what it’s about.

The new circus company Recirquel traveled all the way to Scotland to present the performance Paradisum, directed by Bence Vági, at the end of which the viewer is left with only one thought:

Rain and increasing wind here and there, half an hour before the start of the show there is already a long queue at the entrance of the Assembly Roxy in the center of Edinburgh, which will host Recirquel’s performance for three and a half weeks (from 1st to 24th August).

They all come to us

– whispers one of the troupe members, and I turn around and notice that a really nice crowd has gathered, the line snakes all the way to the neighboring street. The company is participating in the Fringe for the fifth time, this year they traveled to the Scottish capital at the invitation of Assembly, the biggest production company of the festival. If nothing else, this in itself is a guarantee that the Fringe audience will be curious about them year after year.

Recirquel’s performance mixes contemporary dance with circus, both on the ground and in the air. The production is performed by six artists, in six different genres:

• chinese rod,
• garlic,
• gurtni,
• ladder and juggler,
• drum and dance,
• handstand.

Paradisum explores the myth of rebirth following the destruction of the world. He is looking for the answer to how the new man can exist in this Eden-like, utopian state. During the performance, the new creatures unfold from the pulsating natural force around them to reach the anima mundi, the “spirit of the world”, through the scenes of purification, birth, awakening and rite.

An earthly utopia

The room darkens and a shirtless man dressed in gold (illuminated with amber lights) bursts into the space. It explodes among us like a comet and spreads across the earth. It twitches for long minutes while we hear frustrating music. The sight is unsettling, reminiscent of the fluttering of a moth about to emerge from its pupa.

And like an insect testing its wings, the muscular body gently, yet confidently rolls up onto the Chinese pole, the first hinge in the Paradisum performance. We could lift him to Madáchi heights, as the artist of Recirquel rises from the ground and flies not only himself, but also the audience into a parallel universe. Because this is exactly how we feel in the auditorium: as if we are floating in a fever dream, in a mystical envelope from which there is no way out, but we don’t want it to be. It is like the mother’s womb: dark, yet warm, comfortable, yet sooner or later we break out of it, even though we would prefer to levitate in this state for the rest of our lives.

The human body then takes on a female form, and the ring number comes. The young artist uses the device in such a way that the audience can barely breathe. It spins, it spins, we don’t even understand how it copes with the centrifugal force, which affects it so strongly that our bodies almost ache. As if he has no bones, he rolls up on the hoop like a rubber doll. It clings to the device gracefully, yet with great strength. Indeed, a scene comes to life in front of us, as if the heroine had just been born into this world.

The gurtnis number could be characterized in the same way, but not with the hoop, but with two bands. The artist’s wrists are about to fall out of place, only in our eyes, of course, since the man holds the two straps firmly, showing no sign of pain or of his grip loosening at any moment.

Lightly illuminate the space

The most spectacular element of the performance is undoubtedly the handstand number, which is also performed by a female artist.

The blonde girl rises into the sky from behind a huge textile. Thanks to the dark background, almost nothing is visible from the two stilettos, creating the illusion that the artist is floating in the ether. It may take a lot of effort, but he takes the obstacles lightly, sparring, putting his legs around his neck, weaving his body between them while trying to balance on two unstable bars.

The ladder juggling act may seem even more unstable, but the artist not only uses the ladder, but also the white balls keeps it under control. Due to the low ceiling height, he cannot throw the ball bis high, and this might make his job more difficult, but he takes the obstacle smoothly, only a minimal loss of balance slips into the show, but it is this small stumble that brings him down to the ground and makes the performance human .

The series of solo productions is closed by the drummer scene, which slightly elevates the previously strongly energetic production into the realm of performing arts and music. The last performer uses his whole body as a percussion instrument, and the element that serves as a drum functions not only as an instrument, but also as an object that plays an important role in the space.

The sensation affects us from all sides, even though the production comes to life only in front of us, not in a 360-degree space. The Roxy’s tiny stage looks like a dark doll’s house, in which the artists are the self-moving dolls. They use, inhabit and fill the space with life.

The stage image is a living work of art, an organic, perfectly functioning machine, even though there are no million elements, no gigantic scenery, only floating materials and lighting that naturally solidifies into matter, which illuminates the space in such a way as to give depth, height and weight to the environment. . The harmony of the sight and the set is indisputable, and the flashing lights and the strange, yet full of meaning soundscape add to the mystique that pervades the entire interior of the building.

Abstract, yet full of meaning

They are young people blessed with supernatural abilities and gifts, there is no doubt about that. They connect the movements so fluidly, so imperceptibly, as if they were unaffected by any external influence, but were some kind of ancient angels. The joint scenes are at least as powerful as the solo productions, there is a perfect harmony between them, no one outshines the other, they move on the ground as one being.

The context is constantly gaining more and more meaning and meaning, to which not only the visuals, but also the music, which is inseparable from the choreography, contributes. There are no texts, no monologues or dialogues, only instrumental music is heard, so the meaning of the performance is not exact, but somehow it is unmistakable.

Fifty minutes, yet it enchants the viewer so much that it feels like only ten. The standing ovation is inevitable, the audience will be stunned for many minutes after what they saw. You couldn’t write anything bad about Paradisum even if you wanted to. The people of the Fringe have been singing the odes for weeks, and from October 10, 2024 in Budapest, in the Müpa Tent, the Hungarian audience can see for themselves.

(Cover photo: Péter Papajcsik / Index)

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