- Rating:
- 2
Reviewed by: newwithhashtags
Summary:
Image courtesy of Les Sept Doigts
Earlier in the month, I revisited my favorite theater in London; the Peacock Theatre. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a Les Sept Doigts production, but see what I thought of Sequence 8.
Les Sept Doigts are a Canadian physical theatre group. They perform amazing acrobatics, gymnastics and tricks, with elements of suspense and humor. The collection of performers had me sitting on the edge of my seat at times, and gasping at the spectacular skills at other times. From propelling each other from a see-saw, to climbing up poles and swinging from trapezes, this circus-esque act is fun for the whole family. Well, most of the time anyway. Some bits went on a bit too long and I could see a few wandering eyes and whispered conversations rippling throughout the audience.
Now, this was a shock to me. As someone who has seen a couple of Les Sept Doigt’s previous performances, I had a specific idea in my mind about what the show would be like and what to expect. There’s absolutely no denying the quality of the skills and the tidiness of the performance, but the storyline was certainly more weak than previous shows. It wasn’t captivating enough for me, despite the additional story narration.
Additionally, I found that some of the content had been recycled from previous shows. Now I understand that certain elements may have been a success before, and others may not have seen the show before, but I do think that if you reuse content then you need to mix it up a bit. There’s only so many times you can watch someone jump through a hoop and not become complacent that they’ll be able to get through it without drama. This honestly does distract from the sense of suspense.
The thing I found most unusual is how the performance ended on the most boring part of the show. This was at the end where a woman swung around the stage on a metal ring, for far. Too. Long. I had no qualms about popping out to go to the toilet during this time.
So overall, I would say this show was a disappointment. I can’t complain about the skills of the performers because they truly are spectacular, but so much of the show is about the story, the delivery and a good sequence, and this isn’t something Sequence 8 demonstrates particularly well, in my opinion.
