The Lumo Company appears to be a Finnish contemporary Circus group operating out of London, tackling challenging, contemporary themes through a combination of circus skills in the format of a ballet whilst applying an element of comedy and other art forms. If this wasn’t sufficiently diverse and original, one of the performers in the female two-hander ‘Lola’ is not actually Finnish at all but Greek!
Circus Skills seem to be a medium which are increasingly being applied to theatre, often displayed in conjunction with dance and music, creating an exciting new dynamic in delivering a narrative. This was in evidence last year at the Lowry with Metta Theatre’s excellent production of ‘The Little Mermaid’ and only last month in the moving bioplay ‘The Escape Act’ by Stav Meishar. The Lumo Company has taken this a stage further by combining a range of daring and sophisticated circus tricks with choreography and non-verbal acting, performed to a wide-variety of Art-cinema types of music, ranging from unaccompanied piano to Jean-Michel Jarre-style electronic sounds.
Directed by Taina Kopra, ‘Lola’ was described in show publicity as an exploration of trying to remember and not remembering, exploring themes of loneliness, social exclusion and dementia’. It was useful to be advised of this before seeing the show because without this foreknowledge, a lot of the metaphors would not have been clear. As it was, the show does not so much tell a story but take the audience on a journey as these various themes are examined through surreal and dramatic presentation. The performers Hanna Moisala & Angeliki Nikolakaki, alternate in being in co-operation and conflict with each other, as the angsts of feeling isolated or being under attack are communicated by Moisala’s facial expressions (and occasional cries of despair).
Many of the circus stunts are truly stunning, including acrobatic, tight wire, juggling amongst others, with some of the aerial strap routines making Nikolakai appear to be floating in mid-air. The complex skills of the performers provide a comic irony to the exploration of dementia in particular. Dropping down to perform the splits whilst balancing on the tight wire is portrayed as deceptively easy whilst trying to put on a long dress is presented as an inordinately difficult task, even when assistance is offered. Similarly, after a remarkable aerial strap routine has been performed with ease, trying to pour and drink a cup suddenly becomes a huge challenge (even allowing for this being undertaken whilst balancing on a steel tube, but perhaps that was the point!).
‘Lola’ is a very enjoyable evening combining a stunning visual presentation with reflections on the unspoken inner-conflicts which affect so many people every day. There is a slightly dark comic touch to much of the show and a frequent sense of the absurd, which seems one of the hallmarks of the production company.
The Lumo Company state that ‘physical and visual expression is the power and source of their work’ and this is ably demonstrated in ‘Lola’; this show bringing together many different art forms including dance, mime, acting and of course, circus, in a very physical way. Credit must also be paid to the constantly changing music, each piece having clearly been carefully chosen to reflect the mood of a particular section of the show. As a piece of theatre, ‘Lola’ is a superb achievement and a great demonstration of how traditional art forms can be re-invented and combined to produce something that is engaging, powerful and relevant.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 21/11/19
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