Cirque de Legume (Circus of Vegetables) is just plain silly. Which is a compliment. What IS silly? Merriam Webster defines it as: humble…foolish…exhibiting a lack of common sense or sound judgment. It’s bombast and bathos. (Say that six times fast.) Imagine trying to embody silliness for an hour. NOT easy. The word “clown” is being used so often in reference to our political leaders, it’s giving the real ones a bad name.
Two clowns bound into view with great fanfare, look around, and seem surprised there’s actually an audience. Ah…the show, yes…we did rehearse something, didn’t we…they’re waiting…now what was it…oh dear! They’re awkward, frightened, shy, longing to please—eliciting immediate sympathy and popping bubbles of laughter. Before the first words-a title announcement-are uttered, the two have presented a delicate vignette worthy of silent films. “CIRQUE DE LEGUME!” Patty cake, stomach bump, ta da! “How ‘bout that?!”
The supporting cast comes out of a picnic hamper. Mr. and The Animal involves lettuce that growls, barks, leaps, plays dead, rolls over AND allows Landry to place her head in its jaws. “How ‘bout that?!” The lettuce is stubborn, necessitating discipline. It quakes. The Horse of Spain is enacted by Carswell who prances, whinnies, neighs, balances AND lies down so Trotter can climb upon its side (a risky affair of subdued tempers and extreme balance!) Reward is a carrot pushed into the creature’s mouth… again and again and again. Chipmunk cheeked, he can’t, of course, contain the commendation. Carrots are spit, dribbled, and coughed up all over the stage. His mistress commands the animal with whacks by leeks which gradually come apart as her enthusiasm for the action becomes excessively more wild until “…shhhh, it’s me…focus…” he has to calm her. “How ‘bout that?!” Patty cake, stomach bump, tad da!
There’s hypnosis utilizing a beet, knife throwing with red chilies, an appearance by the renowned Seal of Poland, and the only erotic number centering around an onion you will likely ever witness. I swear, it’s genuinely erotic. Interim choreography is brisk and loopy. Vocal sound effects (there are next to no words) are effective and just the right amount of ridiculous. Facial expressions are, well, sublime. Accompanying music for each vignette is familiar, dated, purposefully corny, and always completely right.
Whether you laugh out loud has to do with personal triggers. At the end of the show my cheeks hurt from smiling. I suspect my eyebrows to have spent the time in a raised triangular point. Not everything works. A great deal depends on each audience, though the players can’t be more alert, responsive and game. Applause is warm and appreciative. “Cirque de Legume” is respite from the modern world, an evening of great charm; just plain silly.
Nancy Trotter Landry and Jamie Carswell are perfectly matched performers. Landry’s terrific physicality, exuberance, and wide-eyed expressiveness make a happy marriage with Carswell’s excellently portrayed, patient, dopey, secretly solid foil. That her character’s innate wildness must be controlled adds an amusing frisson. The conceit is completely original and executed with skill. It’s nonsense that oddly makes sense.
Director, Pablo Ibarluzea is clearly in his element. Both actors are tapped in ways that offer what seem to be their strengths. Roles are defined without the gimmickry relied upon by so many clowns. The small stage is effectively utilized. Movement is varied, farcical, and aesthetically appealing. Economic use of words and sounds is deft. Timing is artful.
Costumes by Amy O’Hara (Dumore Embroidery Co. Sligo) are inspired. They seem to be a combination of pieces out of an old European circus trunk and the stuff at the back and bottom of one’s closet- sweet, absurd, decorative, and tacky.
Nancy Trotter Landry, Jamie Carswell, and Pablo Ibarluzea are graduates of the prestigious Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Cirque de Legume originated in 2009, has developed, played widely, and won numerous awards. This is its first appearance in the USA.
Photo credits:
1. Mark Feron
2. Colin Gillen, Framelight Studios
Cirque de Legume
Directed by Pablo Ibarluzea
Created and Performed by Nancy Trotter Landry and Jamie Carswell
55 minutes, no intermission
59E59 St Theaters
59 East 59th Street
212-279-4200
Through October 2, 2011
