I saw Elixir more than two years go and was impressed by its freshness and “feel good” quality. Since then Elixir’s rather eccentric mix of acrobatics and comedy has had many engagements both in Australia and overseas and I was interested to see the impact of this exposure on the performance. Surprisingly, the show still appealed through its ingenuous spontaneity and the crew’s ability to engage the audience’s goodwill was just as evident.
A collection of dazzling highpoints are held together by a zany story narrated by a female voiceover, reminiscent of “Siri” or Scarlet Johansson in the film Her. It seems that Sydney is experiencing a zombie plague and one has been captured in Chippendale, and from this point on mad scientists experiment with an elixir that will restore the zombie to life. Variously coloured test tubes are lined up on a table centre-stage, and are used to mark the transition from one stunt to the next.
The first and very charming highpoint is performed by a ladder and Cal Harris.
Recalling some of the older but iconic dances between object and man in the movies, such as Fred Astaire’s elegant courting of a coat stand, and Gene Kelly’s mild flirtation with a lamppost, Harris invites his ladder to dance. Maintaining the comic pose of a shy, awkward swain, Harris performs some breath-taking balancing acts, while managing to suggest that the success of his difficult manoeuvres comes as a surprise to him.
A new member – to me at least – Rowan Thomas, at first takes on the role of an apologetic wanna-be acrobat arousing the sympathy of the audience with skilful clowning. However, as suspected, Thomas provides another highlight in a spectacular performance on the cyr wheel, a single large metallic ring that, once set in motion, provides the momentum for increasingly difficult spins and inversions. While Thomas executes his choreographed movements with both precision and artistry, he also breaks the spell and indulges in apparently awkward, clownish routines subverting the ideal with comic gusto.
In a near-finale, Tom Gorham, who has performed many feats requiring an astounding combination of strength and balance throughout, literally and hilariously turns classical ballet on its head. In an inversion of the traditional pirouettes and fouettés where turning on one foot in multiple rotations at great speed is often a spectacular concluding movement, Gorham spins on his head at an unbelievable speed. He brings this spectacular exploit to an end with the same little whip of the bent leg that characterises the correct ballet movement.
