æPirates of the Carabina: Relentless Unstoppable Human Machine’ reviews

Let’s get this out of the way first: Pirates of the Carabina is a hilariously apt name for a circus company. Especially one that spends as long as these guys do fiddling about with rope and little clippy bits of metal. ‘Relentless Unstoppable Human Machine’? Now that’s more misleading as a title for a dreamy show of aerial stunts that’s less Duracell bunny, more miscreant rabbit taking a snooze in Mr McGregor’s vegetable patch.

It’s an odd choice to headline Roundhouse’s CircusFest: it’s both low on actual swashbuckling, and has a flung-together, bitty feel that doesn’t do much to fill the venue’s cavernous main stage. It’s essentially a series of rope-heavy aerial turns and skits, with a loose 1920s vibe. Performers Shaena Brandel and Seren Corrigan dominate the line-up with elegant, hyper-feminine acts: beautiful to look at, but tonally a bit one note. Brandel’s involves aerial hoop and sling in natty silk pyjamas, while Seren Corrigan provides one of the show’s rare laughs as she navigates a slippery staircase with faux-drunken stumbles. Eric McGill’s besuited trapeze act gets some genuine, deserved gasps for his ability to hang from his flexed feet.

The show’s USP is its live onstage band: Meg Ella’s soulful voice underscores these antics, creating a rich atmosphere that smoothes over some of the show’s awkward joins. But it doesn't do much to speed up the show's sluggish pace, or to mask the fact that several bits just don’t work. Like some unsatisfying bits of clowning around with a sandwich. Or the fumbled, underwhelming opening and closing bits of shadow puppetry, which involve maximum effort for minimum effect.

They’re there to cement the show’s sappy, barely comprehensible plot about (try not to burst into song) two neighbours becoming good friends. Yes, this troupe of Pirates have an endearingly pally vibe. But with a show this ramshackle, it’s hard to imagine them getting it together to commandeer a coracle, much less a full-on frigate.