Master of mimicry Charlie Chaplin would have been laughing with joy if he had been in the audience to see The Revel Pucks at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival.
Canadian star Arielle Lauzon certainly had the audience eating out of her hand, with her perfect timing and hilarious facial expressions in her role as the circus clown.
Her touching battle to overcome a fear of lions, which as the show went on, grew in size and scariness, was a great aside to some fabulous balancing and spinning skills.
The Revel Pucks were making their debut at the prestigious festival which runs until 28th August and inviting people to delve into the exhilarating world of the circus with their Wings Scuffle Spectacular show.
And what fun it proved to be. With raw energy and fantastically natural skills, this young troupe from London were just brilliant.
Introducing 21st century circus, they wowed the audience with an assortment of specialities, from shocking swinging chainsaws to moon-walking acrobats.
Everyone was on the edge of their seats, as the UK’s only teeterboard troupe entertained with some close call acrobatics.
From balancing on a huge tyre to incredible skittle juggling, the youngsters made up of Arielle and Brits, Michael Patterson, Sebastian Parker, Luke Hallgarten, Emily Lannigan, Fiona Thornhill, Joëlle Ziörjen from Switzerland, British Hungarian Annie Bachman and British French Imani Vital, were hilarious, as well as impressive and on at the Lafayette in the Underbelly’s Circus Hub at The Meadows until 26th August.
Chaplin was not only known for his mimicry, but also his dance skills, an untrained, but talented ballet star.
And as with The Revel Pucks, he would have been blown away with the dancing moves of the Havana Street Party.
Straight from Cuba, after two frustrating years of red tape stopped them from travelling to the UK, stars from four dance troupes hit the McEwan Hall in Underbelly’s Bristo Square.
From sexy salsa and sizzling rumba to thrilling street dance, the show had real energy.
Stars from Los Datway, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Ballet Rakatan and Ballet Revolucion created a thrilling fusion of cool modern dance styles, and the audience was blown away.
The summer dance party included the latest Latin hits from Mark Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, Cimafunk and the No1 from Camila Cabello Havana, as well as classics from the likes of Los Van Van and Buena Vista.
With colourful costumes and dazzling smiles, the dancers soon had the audience up and joining in the fun.
They shared the ups and downs of real life in Cuba, where people still face hardships every day, but are determined to keep on smiling and dancing.
The show, created by five time Fringe First winning director Toby Gough, runs until 27th August.
For more information on what’s on at The Fringe, please visit www.edfringe.com and www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Photographs courtesy of The Revel Pucks, May Reguera and Toby Gough
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