“Show Pony” by the collective still hungry highlights the impressive skills of three circus performers as they push back against the industry’s ageism.
What happens when circus performers hit middle age?
This is the question posed by “Show Pony”, the new circus focused show from the collective still hungry. Hailing from Berlin, the collective consists of Romy Seibt, Anke van Engelshoevn and Lena Ries, three women who are beyond the ages that the industry deems fit to remain performing and they are having none of it.
A dissection of circus practises and the industry itself, the audience is taken through the stages and rules of a typical circus show, demonstrating that even though they may be older but they can still do all of the tricks just as much as anyone younger. The injustices of the industry are plain to see in the demonstration of the fact that they are performing at Edinburgh Fringe.
Gravity defying rope acts, spinning on straps and contortionist bending all encompass the skills of each performer. But the show takes on its own stride once the trio delve into their childhoods and what brought them into the world of circus, presenting the audience with a fresh insight into this world. However, it does leave us wanting more to better understand the injustices of the circus industry.
Overall, the piece could have benefited from a tighter vision, as the pace of it did tend to drag across its runtime. It would have been great to see a further sense of satire of the circus industry too, as the sense of rage against it could have been expressed through the medium it is attempting to critique.
Still hungry’s “Show Pony” relents against the trio’s labelling as merely objects to tossed away and use the impressive skill and power of their bodies to do so.