I suspect not many people have had the pleasure of seeing FUSE Circus and they should correct this immediately!  Powered by the Wellington Circus Trust this unique crowd of bodies develops what I call ‘busking works of art’ and tours them around New Zealand for FREE, well for a Koha, basically you pay what you think its worth.

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If you enjoy clowning but are afraid of clowns, like aerobatics but are scared of heights, and if you prefer to confront your fears vicariously from the relative (sitting up front) safety of your own plot of grass, this may be the thing you want this summer! 

In addition to your picnic blanket, picnic basket, picnic drinks and picnic children, bring plenty of picnic cash because this is a $30 show for the busker’s price of whatever you can afford and if you go a little easier on the picnic drinks you can probably afford to give a lot more, and if you can’t afford the suggested koha, don’t feel guilty, just laugh extra loud. 

Fuse Circus – the company responsible for sell-out shows The Navigators, Gravity and Other Myths and Heavenly Burlesque – have toured this piece from the Bay of Islands to Invercargill this summer and now at last back home in Wellington, they bring us an as-always lovingly crafted set that is in itself a delight to look at.

With a cast of five, the developed characters are equally lovable and delightful to watch cavorting about the space, from the mischievous campground tui with a most effervescent smile (Jay Air) to the raucous, beer-guzzling yet somehow endearing bogan (Zach Washer).

This particular show was also performed at Frank Kitts Park during the 2011 Fringe. I did not see it then but judging from the trailer, the routines of the 2013 version have been drastically altered and one cast member (Natalie Hona), having nabbed herself a dance contract in Germany, has been replaced. Some of this may potentially be the reason for the “world’s tallest long drop” being disappointingly under-utilised and achieving none of its anticipated comic potential, but I doubt I would have noticed what might have just blended into the set, if it hadn’t been pointed out at the beginning of the show.  

The storyline is charming and humorous and, supplemented by a well-curated entirely New Zealand soundtrack, altogether boosted my sense of patriotism and pride in having had the accident of being born under the same flag as such acrobats. Nigel, the flustered and bumbling camp manager (Tom Beauchamp) struggles in vain to maintain order, usually making things worse, as Jeff the Bogan parties hard from within his Cyr wheel and vies against a juggling sports nut (Sean Dwen) for the attention of Olga, the stunning red-headed German tourist (Jessica Judge) who has unwittingly smitten not only the three men and the entire audience but even the cheeky tui. 

The timing of the show, carefully coordinated with the natural lighting of summer, is well-planned, resulting in optimal dreaminess as Olga finally chooses Jeff for the romantic love scene on an aerial hoop which throws out hints from behind this family-friendly façade towards the troupe’s late-night burlesque alter-ego. 

The show culminates in a grand barbecue in the sky at the Flying Picnic Table of Death. It may not have been every child’s dream to eat sausages in bread at tables floating in the clouds, but it was mine! 

Plenty of death-defying stunts and ooh-ahh moments, yet there is an element of assumption when we go to a circus, especially in spoilt-for-choice Wellington. We expect no less than brilliance from each performer. We do not expect them to break a leg, fall, mess up a trick. We assume they will astound us and are not too astounded when they do. They know secrets we don’t. They are not human. They cannot fail.

So when Sean Dwen begins the spinning on his finger of an object I reach for twice a day and yet have never thought to bend towards tricks, and haven’t the slightest idea how one would go about it in the first place, I am somehow more amazed by that one little toothbrush than any other predicted miracle of physics I see for the rest of the night. 

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Campground Chaos is the latest offering from Fuse Circus. During the Fringe Festival it takes place in the open air amphitheatre in Frank Kitts Park. 

A camp master wearing a boy scout uniform and a harness welcomes the audience to the campground and tells us we are in for an hour or so of acrobatics, contortion, juggling and general circus frivolity. Over the course of the next hour we do enjoy watching the aforementioned circus feats mixed in with tongue in cheek Kiwiana fun, slapstick physical comedy, dance and a thumping NZ music soundtrack.

As well as the campground master, the show features a nimble tui who spends most of her time suspended from the top of the rigging (in a beautiful costume), a bendy French tourist who becomes the object of affection of a back flipping bogan and a rugby head with the remarkable ability to juggle almost anything. The show is structured more around its theme and the performance of numbers than any kind of plot, but given the format, plot isn’t really necessary.

All the numbers are performed with seeming ease, but the odd fumble or near miss reminds you of the physical risks these performers are taking. Later in the show a clever change in set, combined with up-tempo drum ’n’ bass and lighting changes, brings an outdoor dance party feel to the campground. The finale involves an impressive aerial stunt – but I won’t give the details away.

Fuse Circus’ Campground Chaos is a colourful and playful Kiwiana-infused circus romp that both children and adults will enjoy.

The only sour note for me is the extent to which the audience is harangued to pay up for the show afterwards. I understand that if the audience doesn’t pay the performers don’t get paid. I also firmly agree that performers of a show of this quality should be paid well. But if you have chosen to market and present a show on a koha basis, then to my mind you’ve also chosen to make it as accessible as possible and dependent on people’s generosity. Repeatedly exhorting people to give a minimum of $20 and more preferably $50 seemed to go against that spirit, and brings a strangely bitter ending to an otherwise enjoyable evening.
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