Review: Chinese State Circus - The Anvil, Basingstoke, Saturday 23 February 2013.
Exhilarated, enchanted, engaged - the audience at The Anvil were all this and more in a 2-hour journey of beauty, skill and emotion. 'Yin Yang' has you wondering how on earth the performers can achieve what they do, even at the very limits of endurance and skill.
For those not in the know, The Anvil is a beautiful modern and spacious auditorium. It's wide - and tall! The stage lends itself perfectly to this kind of entertainment; when you're hat juggling you need all the height you can get!
There was a good crowd for the afternoon performance - with a mixture of all ages ready to cheer the artists on. Right from the off there were heart-stopping moments; when you have performers hurtling head-first down flimsy poles and stopping with their noses just inches from the floor you know that they're out to play with all your emotions.
Can you imagine ten people each spinning eight plates - and then doing forward and backward acrobatic dances? Oh, and how about walking on top of each other whilst still keeping the plates going? Well they can, and they did!
The "don't try this at home" moment came in the form of the Shaolin Warriors who had everyone stunned with their bravado. Pain appears to have no barriers!
The Chinese love to involve their 'Good Luck Lions' and this part of the show was certainly eye-catching, colourful and noisy!
We particularly liked the bicycle act - 10 people on one bike . Okay, one bit went wrong, but credit is due to them for picking themselves up and making it better second time around. You could hear the initial disappointment echo around the auditorium, followed by huge applause after the success.
Much laughter was supplied by the 'Monkey King' - whose job it is to provide continuity while the stage is being re-set. The origin of the King is a major part of Chinese culture. Just as he does in real life, he makes members of the audience his friends and invites them to join him on stage.
The best is saved until last - the hoop diving (or swimming through air) drew gasps from around the whole auditorium.
