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Review: 7 doigts de la main present “Traces” at the Peacock Theatre

If the world was coming to and end and you wanted to be remembered, what would you do to leave a lasting mark…. Your trace?

One of the many circus tricks in 7 Doigts De La Main presents "Traces"

Being different is good. Breaking away from regular constraints makes things more interesting, like remixing circus with theatre performance. The result is Traces, which shows us circus can indeed be cool and doesn’t need to be restricted to the “big top” either.

7 Doigts de la Main’s production, Traces, is the story of five very talented acrobats who go beyond jumping through hoops to do the seemingly impossible, drawing from Chinese circus disciplines, elements of parcour (“Free running”) and street performance. Their repertoire of tricks includes tumbling, jumping between poles at great height, balancing on their hands and skateboarding.

Stuck in a makeshift bunker, they express their emotions, desires and insecurities through acrobatic stunts and contemporary dance styles, while sharing autobiographical elements of their lives with the audience through monologues. It reminds the viewer to go in with an open mind – Traces plays for an audience reaction, just like the real circus, so the narrative is abstract and loose.

The show opens with the master of the ceremony announcing it is okay to leave your phone on loud, visit the lavatory or use flash photography, even though it could be distracting and permanently injuring the performers!

The tumbling that ensues in the introduction sequence is just a preview of what the cast are capable of. Vaulting off one another and executing butterfly twists in time to the music, they narrowly miss one another on the small stage. Something about the accompanying music even gives the feeling of the opening sequence to an action film.

Although there are no rolling credits, a microphone drops from the rafters and the cast introduce themselves to the audience. Opinionated; Shy; “Addicted to breakfast cereal,” one even remarks about themselves, just an example of how the characters add a personal touch and a sprinkle of humour to their stage presence.

Skateboarding handstand by one of 7 doigts in "Traces"

As far as talents go, the cast aren’t just limited to acrobatics, but also musical performance, taking it in turns to better one another on the piano. Later on, one of the performers even treats the audience to a short ballad on the guitar, which probably comes as a welcome break from the physically demanding stunts.

In one scene the men fight over the only woman for attention and affection, taking it in turns to balance her precariously on their hands above their heads. Her mesmerising beauty and graceful talent match the men’s strength for balancing her without bringing her to any harm.

There is a variety of style to keep the charm of Traces flowing. They also utilise live video, with hidden cameras projecting the action from above on to the stage wall, and a short pre-recorded sequence that satirises reality TV. I want to go in to detail about the latter, but doing so would spoil the excellent surprise.

Another memorable act occurs after the interval, where the woman is so involved with reading a book she falls off her couch into a handstand, never taking her eye off the page! It is appeal like this that keeps your eyes glued to the surreal action on stage, which also includes one of the men balancing on one hand on top of mannequins.

Hoop Jumping in "Traces"

Traces is fantastic entertainment, even despite its loose narrative - who needs one when you came to see people do the seemingly impossible? It’s charming and quirky and involves the audience. Even if they made a mistake, the performer would look at the audiences, shrug, and confidently steps aside to let the next person go. Because of this, after you leave the theatre it feels as though you really connected with each of them. They may be disciplined acrobats, but even they make mistakes.

There are plenty of moments throughout where you find yourself sweating in fear for the performer’s lives, or sharp intakes of breath when one delayed reaction could result in disaster, which adds to the thrill.

7 Doigts have refreshed the art of the circus in a different context (ie, theatre), so catch them while the circus is in town, or you’ll miss this unique acrobatic spectacle.

Related section:

Hip hop theatre