The Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam has created an exquisite hybrid in which European circus arts are blended with Vietnamese folk traditions. Simultaneously, the explosive physicality of martial arts-style movements are set against the meditative tranquillity of delicately constructed images.
Where modern circus emphasises the daring bravado of amazing stunts, in A O Lang Pho circus skills are used to present a sharp commentary on the transition from village life to a modern industrialised economy.
The story unfolds through inventive use of large rattan baskets and huge lengths of bamboo. In the village scenes, these become river boats or bridges tossed among the cast in intricately choreographed dances that evoke the purposeful rhythms of an agricultural economy.
Fluid transitions see the circular baskets coming to life as frogs or water fowl and there is a robust display of clowning as the sinuous acrobatics of a female frog command the frenzied attention of a cluster of male frogs.
The performances are enhanced by on-stage musicians playing an array of traditional and contemporary instruments. Harsh electric guitar signals an abrupt shift in tone and the bamboo poles are thrust together to form the scaffolding of an urban shanty town.
