you need a certain darkness to see stars

So says the ringmaster of Celeste's dreams in the Flying Fruit Fly Circus' Circus Under My Bed, a high energy theatrical circus performance which is one of the shows in the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

I realise that I just used the word circus three times in one sentence. It's not often you get to do that. And it's not often I get to go to the circus. In fact, I have never been a circus-goer. I believe we may well, as a family, have attended an erudite (and I use that word in its purely ironical sense) performance in a park somewhere in Aranui, it's a suburb in Christchurch. Today's spectacular show was the complete opposite of that experience. If this is circus, I'm going to be uttering 3-circused sentences as often as I can. 

The Flying Fruit Fly Circus is Australia's National Youth Circus, a specialist circus school based in Albury-Wodonga. The Youth Circus trains young circus artists aged 8-18 to tumble, flip and soar to very impressive heights.

But Circus Under My Bed wasn't just a string of incredible, yet meaningless tricks. Drama, romance, adventure and incredible acrobatic feats are all seamlessly woven together. With the help of an unseen narrator, the audience is taken on a journey through a young girl’s vivid imagination, watching as a make-believe circus comes to life. 

A lot can happen in fifty-five minutes. Faced with the task of packing her suitcase as her family moves house, Celeste feels despondent. But not for long. When the ringmaster arrives with his troupe of tumbling sheep, a plate-spinning chef, a grumpy young woman in quest of an errant balloon and a sad clown, Celeste realises that she is not alone. The impossible is very very possible, as the ringmaster tells her. 

Looking around the intimate setting of the Fairfax Studio in the Arts' Centre, the demographic was certainly young. But children and adults alike, were captivated by the story and mesmerised by the strength, mutual trust and talent of the young performers as they leaped, swung from sheets attached to a hook in the ceiling and climbed a precarious stack of beautifully coloured chairs.

  

I asked the children sitting next to me how they would describe what they had just seen. The older girl said "Colourful and exciting." Her younger companion just said, "Amazing!" and his eyes were shining.

At one point in this charming story, the ringmaster tells the assembled cast to ‘celebrate what you have accomplished,’ and there ensues a festive party scene. The Flying Fruit Fly Circus should certainly celebrate what they have accomplished. The music, choreography, lighting, costumes and the breath-taking tricks were all of such a high standard that it was an enthralling experience. 

I had a free ticket so I coud review it for the paper. I would have happily paid for it. Loved it.

This is not my photo as photography was not permitted during the performance. This image has been borrowed from http://www.cyberpaddock.net.au