Railed: Sizzling and Sweaty Circus

Head First Acrobats are a collection of highly talented circus performers who create spirited acts with unusual and sometimes incongruous themes. Railed is a circus act with a mix of the conventions of male performance for a hen’s night with American Western culture. This results in a fun-filled, somewhat erotically charged, but wholesome show.

Performers Cal Harris, Harley Timmermans, Adam McMahon, and Anthony Joseph Saltalamacchia each bring their own specific acrobatic specialties to the show and frequently have the audience in stitches. The performance includes some traditional circus feats such as balancing and juggling acts, using props from a saloon and some fast-paced dance music to create high levels of adrenalin. Some of the highlights of the show included amazing balancing acts on a ladder and mesmerising use of the Cyr wheel. The segment employing the Corde lisse was nothing short of spectacular.

The show includes a variety of antics involving horse masks, hobby horses and some very tight-fitting cowboy gear. Some of the slapstick humour incorporated into the lively show parodies the hyperbolic masculinity typical of the Western genre. The queer connotations are made with explicit detail and the show literally sizzles. The performers take full advantage of their lean and muscular physiques which are displayed with deliberate but tongue-in-cheek playfulness and piquancy. This is undoubtedly a racy and unconventional show that is characterised by unrelenting merriment and amusement.

Patricia Di Risio

Photographer: John Goodridge