Knee Deep at the Riverside (circus with heart)

Knee Deep is not the sort of show that would normally attract me as it sounded like a circus act and I do not do circuses (normally). This one though came with some good reviews, it was on at possibly my favourite venue, the Riverside Studios besides the river at Hammersmith, and I had a free Friday evening when I would be passing anyway.

Riverside Studio 2 was set up in the square, not unlike a boxing ring without the ropes, and despite a slow start I was able to secure one of the last front row seats. The down side of that was that I had one of the Riverside staff just in front of me guiding people to their seats and so I was unable to take any photographs of the stage and have had to make-do with official photos gleaned from the web.

Knee Deep are a circus act and the two pictures that I have chosen are typical of what they do. The stunts, tricks and routines that they performed were all technically excellent, who would have guessed that one small woman could lift three bigger men?, and they were presented with great grace, tenderness and heart.

The music that came with it growled and bounced in to unfamiliar territory; Portishead's Third was the closest comparison that I could think of. There was a blast of recognisable music from fellow Australian Nick Cave at the end but that was just to see us out.

Knee Deep was a beautiful experience that while firmly rooted in the circus successfully rose above the merely technical proficient by adding a lot of heart.