It may have been a Thursday but according to MC Andrew Silverwood, every night is Friday the 13th at Kaleido Companies ‘Trick or Treat’. It was hard to know what to expect from in the way of ‘horror’ from the creators of ‘80’s Mix tape’ which, in all 3 iterations I have seen, has been light-hearted and filled with comedy both from Silverwood and the circus/aerialist performers (and riggers). It was hard to imagine them doing dark and creepy.
The show promised an ‘immersive circus horror show, interwoven with seductive delights that will leave you gasping in both fear and delight. Is it a trick or a treat?’ I can tell you they did not exaggerate with that promise. At one point, not even 10 minutes in, I actually said out loud ‘oh my god, I feel sick!’ as the anticipation grew as Kaleido Company director and aerialist, Sarah, prepared for an aerial skill that did not feel safe (my stomach just turned thinking about it to write this) but seconds later the whole audience was whooping and cheering with delight.
As apparatus were being changed, we were entertained by Silverwood who took it upon himself to educate us about fears, rational and irrational. If you are reading this Mr Silverwood, I didn’t know that ‘wearing an aerialist as a hat’ was a very rational fear until last night! The audience certainly couldn’t complain that the performers were too far away, they came from every which way! With wolves abseiling, mental hospital patients and clinicians prowling through the crowd, creepy clowns seeming to appear before your eyes when you attention is elsewhere, not to mention aerialists performing literally above the audience. It was a delight, or should I say a treat, for the senses.
The performance included the stomach-turning trapeze doubles act, a creepy contortion/acro performance and I have to say if Sarah was a Barbie her leg would have popped off! How strong were the people basing!!! I really don’t think human bodies are designed to do the things that these performers did! There was a duo cube performance with animal heads. Aerialist Mya played the psych ward patient a little too well in the lead up to being tossed by the psych nurses and as she was being swung and her body folded on itself the noise from the audience member behind me as her stomach flipped only added to the effect!
When the performers let go of a hand and foot and Mya flew over the audience, the squeals that came were far from voluntary. There was lyra and silks and balancing. Things you would expect from a circus show but done in a way that set the bar exceptionally high (literally and figuratively!)
Honestly, the trust that the performers have in each other as they perform these dangerous acts with out a safety net, knowing that if they fall, they are relying only on each other to catch them. There was also an act with aerial body loops but instead of using straps they used loops of chain, because aerials isn’t painful enough, lets do it on chains while holding the body weight of an, all be it petite, additional aerialist. Ohhhh and there was fire! Fire bubbles, fire eating and fire poi. Who doesn’t love fire?
The strength and skill of the performers was beyond belief. The strength to perform on the apparatus and the strength to base and toss and rig (I love watching the riggers as they work to lift and lower the apparatus during the performance and oh my goodness, they were working extra hard during the chains performance! Gents, you work did not go unnoticed).
The costumes were great, the make up was more than effective and the performers who, during 80s Mix tape, previously did happy, bubbly, over the top excited so well did creepy, eerie, sinister WAY too well.
It was summed up perfectly by an audience member who said matter of factly ‘well that was one of the BEST shows I’ve seen in a LONG time!’ I whole heartedly agree!
Sadly, this was only a two night run at Rechabite but Kaleido Company hope to have a run of Trick of Treat at the 2025 Perth FRINGE WORLD Festival. Keep an eye on https://www.facebook.com/kaleidocompany for more information and updates.
Or take a look at the Kaleido Company website @ https://www.kaleidocompany.com.au/
This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.
