Beneath the Veil review | National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA)

In Beneath the Veil, NICA’s second-year students present a world where productivity is paramount and happiness and self-fulfilment can only come from work. Through a variety of circus and acrobatics, this “perfect existence” gradually begins to fail, as the things keeping everything in order start to break down and revolt inevitably follows.

The show opens by introducing us to the residents of this town. They are all dressed in identical workmen’s overalls and caps designed by Reuben James. The costumes eventually transform into circus-appropriate outfits, where they become distinct from one another but still retain the factory-like uniformity of the original workwear. An industrial score by Christopher Lewis plays, evoking a factory conveyor belt and the monotonous nature of manual labour.

From there, we progress through individual, paired and group acts across a range of circus disciplines. The lyra routine by Kiera Fitzgerald is well executed, at times creating a continuous sequence of fluid movement. The double swing trapeze is also visually exciting, with Shayla Ashton and Kelsea Blackburn reaching great heights and speeds as they execute a series of thrilling manoeuvres.

While these acts showcase the skill of the students, the exploration of the central theme through the acts themselves isn’t always as clear. The themes around conformity and class are there, but the show doesn’t go much deeper than a greedy rich ruler and his poor workers. A pilot who crash-lands into this society is initially expected to be the cog that breaks the machine, but instead ends up being used as a clown for comic relief.

There is a contrast and complementary quality emerging between a few of the acts, particularly the tissue routine and the trapeze, even if the lead-up to them is too on the nose, making the symbolism feel more obvious than insightful. But the dexterity, strength and [third quality] displayed by Jaran Latona-Phasu and Tarnee Doye are incredibly impressive.

Eduard Inglés’ lighting design spotlights the performers perfectly, while Kate Fryer’s direction allows surprises to emerge from the front, back and above the stage. Although the score starts promisingly, it becomes repetitive at times and feels completely out of place at others, likely a reflection of the looseness with which the theme is explored.

And while you can’t entirely escape the changeovers between acts in a production of this nature, the interludes presented here are often more awkward than entertaining. The comedy feels like clowning from another era, relying on fart, breasts, and testicle jokes involving balloons, and an inane ongoing gag centred on a hat that makes its wearer laugh uncontrollably. These moments do little to develop the world established by the routines and instead interrupt the flow.

Regardless, there is plenty of promise in NICA's cohort of second-year circus performance students. The individual acts demonstrate a high level of technical ability, but the thematic ideas don’t always prove as compelling. Beneath the Veil ultimately showcases the considerable talent of its performers, even when the production around them is less assured.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: NICA National Circus Centre, 39-59 Green Street, Prahran.
Season: Until 19 September | Fri 7:30pm, Sat 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Duration: 70 minutes
Tickets: $40 Full | $32 Conc
Bookings: NICA

Image credit: Rob Blackburn