News And Views
News And Views
A Fringe First
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Last week I began my first stint at Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a circus critic. 3 days, 2 nights, and 9 shows later - and several pounds lighter - I was wondering how journalists ever managed in the days before lap-tops and free wifi.
I was also feeling rather rotten, having seen a poor show by a company who I love, and have a number of personal connections with. I have to keep reminding myself that critics aren’t here to be popular, but to be honest - like a firm but fair parent. Positive reviews are lovely but, if people don’t like what they see, its important to get that feedback. In the world of circus criticism (small as it currently is) it’s also important to make accurate critical distinctions; much of the press currently afforded circus performance comes from theatre or dance reviewers who are easily impressed by the difference of a production to their normal fair - or confused and unable to see beyond their usual codes of viewing. This has resulted in a number of vapid reviews where writers haven’t even known where to begin in a critical appraisal, so resort instead to generic statements of wonder. For a public who see as little circus as these critics, this may be a valid method of reviewing; for those with a deeper knowledge and understanding of the art, however, it won’t do.
So I published my review, complete with tuts and sighs, hoping that my friends back at the circus will see that it’s not a personal dig, but a service to the greater good of circus arts.
My run-down of the circus offerings at this years Fringe appeared on This Is Cabaret, and I also covered a couple of shows for the Puppet Centre Trust’s Animations Online magazine. Looking forward, it seems more and more people are willing to take notice of circus arts, hurrah!
‘It’s a mess out there, I’ll grant you, but a fascinating mess’
David Lewis Hammarstrong,
from ‘Inside the Changing Circus’