Limbo – The Return

Over ten years ago, Limbo premiered and toured all over the world. Now, Limbo is back. Limbo – The Return is a breathtaking performance with world renowned circus performers.

Do not look away, don’t even blink, because if you do, you’ll miss something amazing. With its mix of pole, aerial, tap, and jazz, as well as its incorporation of live music as part of the entertainment, this cabaret has something for everyone.

Performers Ben Loader, Clara Fable, David Marco Pintado, Grant Arthur, Hilton Dennis, Maria Moncheva, Mick Stuart, Mikael Bres, and Sxip Shirey knock your socks off. All are charismatic and have a power over the audience that makes it impossible to look away.

They create an eccentric mix of sexy, funny, and ethereal characters, each of which you fall in love with by the end. An interesting part of the performance for people who are interested in stagecraft is that everyone on stage oversees setting up their own equipment for the several types of dances they do.

The performers who did aerial dances, Ben Loader, Mick Stuart, and Maria Moncheva, set up their own ropes; the individuals who performed with fire, Ben Loader and Clara Fable, set up their own fire equipment, so even the moments in between the active performance felt like part of the entertainment.

Similarly, the dancers would occasionally perform as musicians, and the musicians got to dance as well. Because everything and everyone works together so that it all seems like one cohesive performance (not the dancers and the musicians hiding in the back) everything feels intentional. Even when there were minor mishaps, the performers managed them professionally and made the mishaps part of the performance.

Limbo – The Return creates a sense of sensory overload in the best way possible; with its flashing and colourful lights, the theatre fog, and loud music, it creates a sensory experience that is hard to forget. The dark red lights and theatre fog, paired with deep rumbling music create a spooky ambiance before the show starts. And then, the lights begin to flash, and the show begins. The music is unique and striking, composed specifically for this performance by Sxip Shirey. The first piece of the performance sets the tone for the rest of it, when a musician dressed a bit like a mad scientist mixed with an angel begins to beatbox with a harmonica. The music is eccentric, beautiful, and completely unique to anything seen before. Even the music during the 15-minute intermission was entertaining to keep the energy level of the room up.

The audience loved this show. Between the interactive elements of the performers going above and around the audience, and the performers working with the audience to make music, it is safe to say that the audience was fully immersed in the show.

Overall, this show is sexy, beautiful, witty, and overall entertaining. You will have so much fun getting covered in feathers.

Isabella Nocetti

Photographer: Damien Bredburg