In their latest production WREKD, YUCK CIRCUS transport you to a dystopian wasteland where no one takes themselves too seriously. This show has got it all: lego, neon worms, zip lines and more. It has some of the best arial silks performances I’ve seen in Boorloo, with an awesome 80’s soundtrack. Not to mention, there were things I didn’t even know could be done with a skipping rope.
Imagine if a high school movie was dominated by the weird kids. Like a Molly Ringwald movie without Molly Ringwald. This circus show, directed by Georgia Deguara, is a gritty display of skill. When performers miss the mark it’s incorporated into a contingency script, where they bicker and break into petty little fights like school kids. The whole thing plays out like the school experience I had in the moments before my alarm clock would start yelling at me.
WREKD by YUCK Circus. Photo supplied.
When grown-ups don’t stop playing, fun shit like this ensues. WREKD is a timely reminder that getting older is way more fun because we have access to perform and watch shows in places like The Rechabite. I’ve seen this space used in so many different ways now, and it excites me to see what elements of the three-story space will be used for each show. WREKD is no exception, with performers climbing down from the railings, or on top of each other from the ground to the upper rails.
There’s a scene which I can only describe as “wormlesque”. Truly challenging notions of sensuality, the acrobatic performance resembles both the easy flow of a worm and the beautiful brawn of a professional circus freak.
Amidst all the leather, chains, and whatever other grungy stuff you associate with an apocalypse, WREKD has just enough dialogue to set the scene in a minimal way without taking away too much time from all the cool stuff. Witty gags manifest in effortless ways, which make the simple storyline very clear without needing to loquaciously establish it. Anything meta always gets me, as it reminds the audience that it is being delivered exactly as intended.
A sensory warning for those prone to overwhelm, you probably want to avoid the seats near the aisle. Although anywhere you sit may be subject to light tactile interference. I don’t want to ruin the show for you, so stop reading now if you like surprises.
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So, if you don’t want the surprise and appreciate forewarning of the sensory elements, you will probably get popcorn, or maybe spattering drops of a drink flicked onto you, or something else that a neurotypical would consider “light” peppered onto you if you’re sitting on the rows on the ground level of unassigned seating. I can’t speak first-hand about the upper-level seating, but it looks like the performers may be in your vicinity to get to the railing for some parts of the show. So do be mindful if that’s where you choose to sit.
WREKD presented by YUCK CIRCUS is on now at The Rechabite until October 7.