Around the Fringe in 80 Shows (2)

TEAM LOKO - HUMAN GRAFFITI

I have no idea where this Team Loko outfit has come from. I don't know how to describe what they do, either - kind of breakdancing circus gymnastic stunts. They’re a bunch of buffed up guys and girls who do some really amazing physical stuff on a purpose-built scaffold in Fed Square. They’re eye-bogglingly fit – think push-ups without your feet touching the ground – and there’s no way you could failed to be awed by at least a good handful of their routines. They’re also pretty cool, and really seem to enjoy what they’re doing rather than being all proud and show-offy about it. It’s free.

TRACE ELEMENTS - DROP AND ROLL

This thing made me want to be able to go back to the early 90s when you could say “you the man!” or “you the bomb!” with impunity and regardless of whether the subject was in fact male and/or a bomb. Not that it’s dated or retro, but it reminded me of that era since that was when I was coming across a bunch of new performance styles I’d never seen before, and didn’t quite know what to make of, but found really exciting.

Drop and Roll is parkour, and if you’ve seen any action movie in the last five years you’ll have seen a bit of that. If you don’t know what it is, google it. Trace Elements are apparently Australia’s best exponents of the French sport/art/something, which is all about reimagining our relationship to the urban space, the efficient body, velocity and so on. It’s not as immediately impressive as Human Graffiti (they share the same space) but that’s mainly because I – and most people, I guess – don’t yet have the vocabulary to understand everything that’s going on here. There’s a whole philosophy behind parkour (and its offshoot, free-running) that’s worth looking up. In the meantime, check this show out – it’s still really strong stuff. It’s also free.

POINT OF SEPARATION

This dance piece started half an hour after the stated starting time but was only about 15 minutes long and was – yes – free, so things kind of even out I suppose. It’s pure, abstract dance performed by three dancers, choreographed by someone else. If you like pure, abstract dance you’ll enjoy this – it’s a good, bite-sized fix, kind of like a Milky Way, and like I said it’s FREE. If abstract dance isn’t already your thing, it probably won’t convert you. Some people just don’t dig Milky Ways. It’s by Myrtle Tree dance company, who I think are new.

ADAM VINCENT - ADAMVILLE

Shock comedy sucks. It's easy and it's rarely funny. When Adam Vincent mentioned that he'd be talking about mostly 'wrong' stuff, I began to silently mouth the code phrase that slams the door of my mental panic room ("Fleamarket. Montgomery. It's Just Like. A Mini-mall.") This gig turned out to be brilliant, however, because Vincent is intelligent and handsome and well-intentioned and wears a very smart suit. He covers some seriously tricky territory and on an off-night this could turn out badly. But he won the house from the get-go in this early outing, and had me laughing hard at material that - in the wrong hands - would have had me heading for the door. I was well impressed. It's free, too, and as good as some of the top-priced Comedy Festival acts. Highly recommended, folks.