Bromance
Bromance
Underbelly, Bristo Square
Mary Brennan
I SUPPOSE you could say Charlie Wheeler is the ring-master in this three-man circus troupe - well, he is master of one ring: the Cyr Wheel, a huge metal hoop that twirls, spins and rolls around the space while he is balancing inside the rim.
Actually, nobody gets to be the guy who cracks the whip - not that there is a whip, either. There is, however, some alpha-male competitiveness and sneaky power-shifts that could tough up aggressively if the dudes were not so kinda nice, verging on cute. Hanging loose, negotiating the male-bonded camaraderie that has the same goofy audience appeal as whiskers on kittens, or meerkats with Russian accents.
The acrobatic Bromance between Wheeler, Beren D'Amico (smallest of the three) and Louis Gift (the tallest) begins with a handshake - but before you can say howdy-do-di, one partner has hauled the other off his feet and into shoulder-high balances or twisty back-flips. Ooohs and aaahs, as the lads get their tricks out for the girls.
Larkiness established, the trio push further with the difficulty ratings, not just in terms of circus tumbling, but in the degrees of friendly physicality - beyond a handshake - that are acceptable between men.
It is an interesting, novel through-line that supports comedy, rivalry and echoes of playground isolation when no-one wants the geeky kid on their team.
But while Bromance is an enjoyable first showing from the threesome - aka the Barely Methodical Troupe - there is still work to be done on how this band of brothers theme can be better orchestrated - and firmed up - within the evolving circus stuff where, as with all inter-dependent relationships, trust and risk are of the essence.
Ends August 25
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article