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Theatre listings > Director - Louis Spagna. Cast - here . Company - Les Argonautes Company Website. Venue and Times - The Hub, Royal Mile. 28May at 7pm, 29 May at noon & 3pm, 30 May at 10:30am and 1:15pm. Touring details - www.argonautes.be . Run Time - 1 hour 5 mins, NO interval. Suggested Age - 8-12 years old . Reviewer - Lauren McKie. Co-operative, explosive slapstick and skill. Ouch! I would not have expected to ever resort to sitting on the back of my chair again - I am not vertically challenged - but unfortunately, the slow-raked seating at the Hub provided me with no alternative. It was a necessary nuisance as this production is well-worth seeing and it had been very suddenly moved from Gateway Theatre to this venue. In this case, they have done a very good job of coping with a crisis - disregarding the seating. There are some really endearing things about this production - in particular the specific skills of the cast. We're immediately presented with a very interesting experiment: a mobile onstage lighting and sound desk (mounted onto a bicycle!) operated by clownish director Zouff, Jan Daems. There are a few moments when the audience loses interest as the action occassionally lags, but really the combination of the exciting sound design and the aerial tricks aboard the only real set element - a 3-dimensional square metal frame - keeps everyone amused. Other oustanding elements of this piece include some extraordinary contact juggling (the simplest example of this is David Bowie and the three spheres in Labyrinth) by Gaetan, Etienne Borel, who goes on to juggle co-operatively with George, Benjamin Bernard, - the most characteristically "dense" of the clowns but perhaps the most likeable. Also we see some frantic balancing and baton juggling by Dominguo, Philippe Van de Weghe, - a founding member of the troupe. But the performer who really shines (quite an accomplishment in such talented company) is Maurice, Christian Gmunder, - the feats of balance he performs on the unicycle keepsthe children amazed (and very quiet) all the way to the end. I forgive the festival organisers for the seating and I guarantee anyone who sees this will too as it really showcases a very co-operative and explosive team. The tradition of circus skill is combined with genuine originality to provide a very entertaining performance. ©Lauren McKie 30 May 2005 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Cast - Dominguo - Philippe Van de Weghe. Gaetan - Etienne Borel. Maurice - Christian Gmunder. George - Benjamin Bernard. Zouff - Jan Daems. Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Theatre listings >
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