Le Noir – The Dark Side Of Cirque: Breathtaking, Sexy and Mesmerising Circus – Review

Festival Theatre, Thu 23 Apr

Le Noir is a reinvention of circus of the most breathtaking, momentous and mesmerising kind. New superlatives could be invented for this show and still would not be enough to convey the heartbeat-frenzy of excitement, fear and genuine danger that is in every moment.

Le Noir is separated into three Acts: White (graceful, elegant), Red (sexy, kinky) and Black (gritty, bondage-inspired), each of which take jaw-dropping acrobatics to a new level. Each Act is augmented with dancers and it’s all tied together by MC Salvador Salangsang, who perfectly blends comedy, fun and some very entertaining audience participation. All too often the comedic interludes in these types of performances can seem anticlimactic and a distraction from the main event, but Salangsang’s skill and comedic timing made these moments something to look forward to – a respite from the otherwise extreme pace and intensity.

Featuring all the aspects of modern circus that audiences have come to expect – the cyr wheel, strong men, silks, cylinder balance, trapeze, aerial hoop, single hand balance – the masterful performances are matched with extraordinary lighting design and musical accompaniment to create a show that is second to none. Ultimately about the artistry of movement, all the performers brought grace, strength, agility and flexibility to their work. 

But Le Noir likes to ramp things up and take circus to new places. On a circular stage of just 1.5m, roller skaters and real-life romantic partners Jeronimo Ernesto and Jessica Ritchie enacted a kinky wedding-night sketch, circling at breakneck speed, in a performance that was as sexy as it was dangerous.

And just when things couldn’t get any more tense, Canadian Olympic gymnast Emilie Fournier and Alexandre Lane performed the Australian premier of their Aerial Cradle act: a stunning combination of acrobatic strength and trust performed with astonishing dramatic flair. This was as true a representation of a romantic relationship as I have ever seen.

And with our hearts in our mouths and our jaws on the floor, Le Noir ramped it up again for one last time with the wheel of death. Carlos Macias and Angelo Rodriguez made the world’s most complex circus stunt look at once petrifying and easy as they ran, jumped, flipped and flew through the air as the dual wheel spun high into the rafters of the Festival Theatre stage. Audience members’ heart rates were raised to near cardiac-arrest in the crowd as the men defied gravity and common sense.

Then it all got very real when, blindfolded and running through the wheel at astonishing speed, one of the men tripped briefly. He recovered in an instant, but it was that instant that proved that this was real. This is edge of madness stuff. From the elegant contortions on the aerial hoop, to the impossibility of the single hand balance, to the magic of shape spinning, and all the way through to the tremendous danger and skill of the wheel of death: you may never see a show as risky as this. You may also never see a show as perfectly performed, constructed and designed as this. Le Noir is an absolute must-see.

Lynette Washington

Le Noir continues at Festival Theatre until Sat 2 May. Book at BASS on 131 241 or bass.net.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.