Casus Circus – Driftwood Reviews Edinburgh Fringe 03 – 28 August 2017 Broadway Baby – Frodo Allan – 10th August 2017 http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/driftwood/720007 A single red lamp shade hangs above the stage in Assembly’s Spiegeltent Palais Du Variete. The cast of three men and one woman enters and, as they writhe their bodies together and stretch out for the light, the lamp slowly rises out of reach. What follows is an hour of beautifully realised contemporary circus performance and dance from Casus Circus who return to the Fringe with their award-winning show, Driftwood. Driftwood is sensual in its simplicity; the four artistes engage in a playful performance with each routine blending smoothly into the next. The core of the show is the tumbling and acrobalance where we see the limits of human ability stretched and contorted into incredible shapes and forms. The cast playfully move around the small stage and intimately clamber over and under each other as effortlessly as you and I might walk. It’s definitely circus but there’s a clear dance influence on the choreography of movement in the piece and it creates an extremely accessible contemporary circus show. The balance and poise of the cast is impressive and each performance has that wonderful quality of seeming just difficult enough. You get a real sense that there’s effort in these physical performances and the possibility that it could go wrong brings the audience to the edge of their seats on more than one occasion. A particular highlight is a spectacular balancing feat that has real risk attached and a fantastic aerial hoop routine which thrills. Driftwood is also a success in its quieter moments; a Samoan dance is performed with grace, beauty and respect, and the audience seem to hold their breath for a perfect second. It’s a beautiful vignette in a perfect show. We may all be cast on the ocean of life but Driftwood is rising above the waves. Casus Circus – Driftwood Reviews Edinburgh 2016- 2017 Edinburgh Festival Mag – Nastassia Sutherland – 21st August 2017 http://www.edfestmag.com/driftwood-3/ Casus Circus’ Driftwood is becoming a staple of the Edinburgh Fringe, and rightly so. Despite the rowdy Fringe goers creating a dull hum outside, inside the grand, billowing Spiegeltent there is complete silence. Casus have our complete attention as they expertly flip, tumble and balance across the stage, and each other. Using a solitary light in the centre of the stage as their one constant, these are performers who know exactly how to put on a show and they do so spectacularly. Driftwood is sleek, polished and full of entertainment for all ages. The performers manage to create the unimaginable and perform the impossible in a fabulous feat of human flexibility, discipline and balance. Alongside all of this, they still manage to incorporate humour into the show and the whole group genuinely look like they’re having the best time which emanates into the audience. The show uses elements of dance alongside circus, creating a flow of movement as one stunt blends into the next. Sitting in a fairly small venue so close to the stage may seem like a bold decision but this just raises the tension as the audience can see each intricate detail of the routine, adding to the sense of awe for what they manage to achieve. The double trapeze act is a beautiful piece that truly shows off the partnership between the two women and the unity of the group as a whole, while the solo acts are equally stunning, made more so by the musical accompaniment that suits each piece perfectly. Driftwood is quickly becoming circus royalty so quick, go and grab a ticket. Casus Circus – Driftwood Reviews Edinburgh 2016- 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival 4th August – 28th August 2016 Kerry Teakle – TV Bomb - 7th August 2016 http://www.tvbomb.co.uk/review/driftwood/ As we drift along the current of life, we are shaped by the humans we encounter. In this circus show from the highly skilled Australian company, Casus Circus, three men and two girls perform jaw-dropping acrobatic stunts showing us the inter-connectedness of human contact and how this shapes our lives. Beautiful and graceful, their strength defies what is anatomically, and for most people, humanly possible – and that includes the girls, as they balance their male companions. Driftwood is a circus show that does not let you forget that to feel is to be human and in a moment of danger, a grasping hold is survival. The company create unique, shapes interacting with each other, showing the power of touch and hold. They each play their part in linking to each other showing the need for trust. A great musical score accompanies their moves, injecting humour and beauty into this hour of circus, and graceful, physical movement. With aerial ropes, hoops, and a contraption resembling a clothes stand (which is in fact a balancing implement used on the head of one of the males for the other to climb up and perform death defying stunts), this show will have you gasping for breath as they complete their moves. Casus Circus is an exciting, aesthetically strong circus company, who have won international accolades for their previous piece, Knee Deep, which played in Edinburgh a few years ago. This show will leave you marvelling at the human form, its extreme power and beauty and how our lives are shaped by our connections with others. Casus Circus – Driftwood Reviews Edinburgh 2016- 2017 Lucy Ribchester – The List – 8th August 2016 https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/83053-driftwood/ “Australian circus Casus makes a welcome return with an outstanding follow up to Knee Deep” Whenever a new company storms the Fringe with a hit show, its follow up is always a bit of a litmus test. In Casus' case – after a three-year gap following Knee Deep – the five-strong circus troupe has come back better than ever. Driftwood feels less thematic than Knee Deep – is the driftwood of the title physical flotsam and jetsam or shifting relationships? – but the choreography is more intricate and imaginative, and the group has increased in confidence without losing any of the curiosity and dreamlike experimentation which sets their tone differently to the sleek, ironic one of fellow Aussies Circa. Still they continue to test the aesthetic, gravitational and muscular limits of the body and the results are mesmerising. There is such kindness, cooperation, flexibility and creativity in the group, whether they are forming a churning half wheel on stage for performers to leap over, a teasing duet between husbands Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay or in the case of Kali Retallack and Abbey Church making beautiful four-legged stars on doubles trapeze. Props are used sparsely and never tricksily. Scott swings, pendulum-like, on his head, on a trapeze, like he is marking out the decreasing time of a moment that can never last. Retallack contorts into extraordinary poses on a hoop, and perhaps one of the most fascinating segments sees Natano Fa'anana and Retallack team up in a Samoan dance, his nuanced graceful movements echoed by her muscular contemporary form. The finale is outrageously impressive, while remaining soaked in muted, ethereal beauty. This is circus that makes your lungs seize, that makes you want to jump to your feet: circus that makes you glad you are there in the moment watching it and not anywhere else. Bravo Casus. Casus Circus – Driftwood Reviews Edinburgh 2016- 2017 Chiara Margiotta – Edinburgh Festivals Magazine – 14th August 2016 http://www.edfestmag.com/driftwood-2/ ***** (5 star review) Casus Circus give us mere mortals the opportunity to realise the true capabilities of our bodies in their latest feat, Driftwood. In the audience, it feels like the whole spectrum of human emotion is compressed into that one hour. We smile, gasp, and clutch each other as the ensemble leaps, experience real terror as we worry that surely this time someone will fall, surely this can’t be done, and, finally, feel the prick of almost-tears at the awe-inspiring abilities of others with bodies just like ours. The incredible energy and chemistry between the family-like five performers completes the atmosphere, and the sheer range of tricks they master is astounding, treating us to displays of skill and strength using trapezes, aerial hoops and each other. One of the most magnificent shows of the Festival, Driftwood is a chance to witness the true physical peak of the human body. Casus Circus – Driftwood Reviews Edinburgh 2016- 2017 Richard Birch – edfringe review.com – 12th August 2016 http://edfringereview.com/r/V4jSKj2kSWaRPlzQXDx6yg *** (3 Start review) Driftwood is a circus performance brought to the Edinburgh Fringe by the Casus troupe in the distinctly circus-like atmosphere of Assembly Palais du Variété. A flawless display of their acrobatic skills, the show however occasionally suffers from choosing to emphasise the physical strength of the performers over their visually dazzling routine. To this reviewer’s eyes, this comes as a weakness; although to many of the audience this wisas not the case, with many evidently impressed by their prowess. The opening is truly astounding, changing from a seemingly ordinary scene via a dramatic fall and light change into an interlocking lying-on-air position. This initiates an hour of non- stop dramatic movement, utilizing atmospheric lighting and descending lampshades, ropes and so on to create a varied, interesting and compelling show. However, the performance does occasionally veer into feeling slightly repetitive, using some of the same moves in a similar manner. At times like these one cannot help but feel that the show could benefit from being slightly shorter.