Europe Reviews Travel

Review || Peepshow at the Chamaeleon Theater, Berlin

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It’s such a delight to get invited to the Chamaeleon Theater twice a year to view their latest show. I’ve waxed at great length in the past about what a stunning space it is, and why the art of “new circus” should be taken as seriously as any other physical theatre.

I won’t rehash my feelings on the above again (but you can read about it in my past posts) and I’ll get straight to the meat of today’s post. My review of CIRCA’S PEEPSHOW. Circa is an Australian company who have performed at the Chamaeleon in the past. In fact, PEEPSHOW was developed with the Chamaeleon in mind, so if you happened to catch it on the Southbank this summer at the Underbelly, that was a very much abbreviated version of the show that went on to be at the Chamaeleon. The Underbelly performance was just under an hour long, whereas this clocks in at about 2 hours, with a major tonal shift after the interval.

The whole premise of the show centers around the act of looking; what it means to be looked at and how it is to be the looker; with undercurrents of exploring how gender and sexuality elicit different responses on stage. (I almost wish that they had gone further with the later element.) The audience is both objectifier and mirror to the work and there are multiple examples of turning the expectations and feelings of being the watcher, and feeling watched, on their heads. Strikingly, there is one of the best examples of audience participation that I’ve ever experienced in Circa’s PEEPSHOW (even better than the audience role in “One Man, Two Guvnors” if you’ve seen that.)

For me one of the absolute highlights of the show was the work of Jessica Connell. Both her “strip tease” and her work with hula hoops were the most memorable moments of the show. She used the hoops as an extension of her own body, some of the ways that she works with and manipulates the hoops are absolutely magical. I know for certain that quite a few people left the show commenting that they might go out and buy a hoop for themselves.

But the entire cast is particularly strong. The acrobatics are edge-of-your-seat-bite-your-nails terror inducing; never have I been in a show that’s elicited more gasps from an audience. PEEPSHOW was one of the most physically focused shows that I’ve seen, even at the Chamaeleon. Other than the artists’ bodies, there is little to no focus on anything else, props, slight-of-hand, etc. It was also one of the strongest “new circus” shows that I’ve seen in terms of lighting and music; the artistry in all elements of the staging are strong with a marked focus of the rhythmic heartbeat-like bass that powers a good chunk of the show.

If I had one slight criticism of the show it would be that the performers seemed to gain confidence as the show went on; but as I caught it in previews in their new venue, I’m sure that all those moments will be ironed out soon enough.

And what else can I say? Well, it left me wanting to own a pair of sequinned hotpants for myself.

If you are planning a trip to Berlin and want to fill an evening with culture, there’s nothing that I recommend more highly than a trip to the CHAMÄLEON; perhaps the only theatre in Berlin where a language difference is absolutely irrelevant.

You can catch CIRCA’S PEEPSHOW at the CHAMÄLEON until the 17th of February 2019. Click here to book tickets yourself.

acrobatics black and white acrobatics aerial artist aerialist arms chamaeleon peepshow chamaeleon theatre circa chamaeleon circa circus ensemble circa circus circa ensemble circa peepshow contortion ensemble feat of strength hoops hula hoops human pyramid new circus oconnell people tower sequin hotpants splits strip tease throwing aerial artist

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to read my past review of shows at the Chamaeleon:

Underart: An Ode to Crash Landing
Parade 
Finale 

*** I was a guest of the Chamaeleon but all thoughts and opinions are forever my own. ***

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