Words: Elodie Marriott

3 Stars

As a single light flickers and grows steadily brighter, breathy whispers bounce around the auditorium and the teeterboard centre stage creaks eerily. It’s not hard to believe that the Ghost Light has truly lured spirits onto the stage.

Between the rhythmic thumps of the teeterboard, the audience audibly exhale their nervousness and astoundment as the tricks get increasingly complex. The duo launch each other higher and higher with every bounce. One somersault quickly turns into two. They flip as if they have unlimited time in the air, but for the audience, blink and you’ll miss it. Their execution is clean and appears effortless, though there are plenty of mock mishaps, a hand trapped beneath the board, a bonk on the nose, or landing with legs splayed over their heads.

But don’t expect back-to-back thrills. Ghost Light leans more towards a surrealist performance of grief than a traditional circus act. Maxim Laurin, who holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive backflips on a teeterboard, and Guillaume Larouche, take on characters of contrasting moods, enthusiasm and exhaustion.

Ghost Light: Between Fall and Flight may be more sombre than most circus acts, but the story of love and loss is enhanced by the weightlessness of flying and the dreaded fall that follows.

Ghost Light: Between Fall and Flight
Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows – The Lafayette
16:10
Aug 7-11, 13-18, 20-24