MCC 2012 - LEO

After seeing LEO tonight, I came crashing down from my Vague de Cirque high. There has been a lot of hype surrounding this show, which only contributed to my disappointment. In a nutshell, LEO is a guy rolling around on the floor for an hour while his actions are simultaneously filmed and projected onto a screen right next to him. The resulting images give the audience the impression that the titular character is somehow defying gravity.

Ta daa!

This goes on for one hour.

While I can appreciate the amount of research that must have gone into this, and that Tobias Wegner clearly left no stone unturned, the show is a good 53 minutes too long. There were some very clever moments, certainly. And even some touching moments. But hardly enough to warrant a full length show. The whole world-flipped-upside-down video projection thing is hardly a new concept. And I must admit, it strikes a nerve that this is in a circus festival when there's barely any trace of genuine acrobatics. The incredible feats are all an illusion. For me, the odd handstand or valdez doesn't qualify a show as circus. And since I'm already being kind of a jerk, I think it's also a stretch to publicize that the artist "excels at drawing". I'm not saying he's bad at drawing, but to say he excels? And why is that even a selling point for a circus show?

I know, I know... I'm being really harsh. But I left that show angry. I was angry about having to sit through it, and I was angry that the audience seemed to eat it up.They loved it! They laughed for reasons I don't understand, and seemed to be utterly dumbfounded by what they were looking at. So maybe it's just me. But I overheard a festival employee talking about the show afterward. He was even less generous that me. I'd give LEO a seven minute act. This guy figured it only merits five.


LEO runs Sunday July 8th and Tuesday July 10th. Go see something else instead.