Inferno

I have always been fascinated with fire artists. Even though I know inside that they will hopefully not get burnt, their performances still come with a high degree of danger.

Inferno advertises “a variety show with the country’s best fire artists, breath-taking dancers, and jaw-dropping circus acts.” It does that and more with a generous amount of burlesque thrown in for good measure.

There are eight acts, compered by the inimitable Clara Fable, who has a knockout costume, amazing fire skills, is a singer-song writer and has the ability to get the audience eating out of her hand.

Clara stood in for a guest artiste who was unable to perform on opening night. Needless to say, she ‘nailed it’ with some spectacular fire work and amazing vocals!

The remaining acts are varied featuring fire eating wands, fire fans, fire dance daggers, fire staffs, palm candles, fire crowns, spiral claws, and poi balls. Many of the acts feature burlesque striptease with added fire.

Kozo Kaos, New Zealand’s fastest fire juggler is faster than the speed of light. He had a few missed catches on opening night but quickly recovered and proved he is more than deserving of his title.

For me, the highlight of the night is Jessie Spin, one of Australia’s most outstanding fire artists. In a Spanish burlesque-style outfit she dazzles with her artistic use of fire and facial expressions,  instantly taking the audience to another place and time. The finale of her performance is truly breath-taking. Jessie dons a skirt, akin to the frilled lizard costume from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and fills the performance space with swirling flame as she spins. It is one of the best fire acts I have ever seen! (I would love to see a production featuring Clara Fable and Jessie, it would be ‘scorching’!)

The remainder of the performers explore different avenues of the art, some succeeding more than others. There is even a Boylesque fire act with the compulsory rippling off of his singlet while using poi balls. Also impressive was a fire hula hoop that creates a ring of fire around the performer.

There were some technical difficulties on the opening night; lengthy black outs, firesticks extinguishing early and some firesticks dropped in a juggling act, but I am confident these will be ironed out as the performers adjust to the venue and its limitations. These difficulties did not deter the audience however, who screamed and cheered throughout the evening.

Inferno is 60 minutes of song, fire, repartee, fire, comedy and most of all, fire! If you are a devotee, it is essential viewing, if you are a ‘newbie’ go along and have a look, you may become a convert!

Barry Hill OAM

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