Tumblers fall from grace

Circus at the South Bank has been on the wane for the past year or two, but this weekend it reached a new low with the Collectif Acrobatique de Tangier.

Billed as a mix of circus, theatre and illusion, with 'age-old Moroccan performance, modern theatre and 21st-century humour', Taoub is actually a limited show by limited performers.

The 12-strong troupe were discovered on the beach in Tangier by French director Aurélien Bory, and if you were on holiday and saw them perform at twilight with the sea in the background, you'd probably think it a picturesque sight, albeit strictly in the street-theatre category.

On the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall it looks amateurish, with so-so tumbling and acrobatics, few theatrical ideas and come-as-you-are costumes.

The performers are embarrassed, and the blame lies with director Bory who has taken beach acrobats and put them on stage without creating a show around them.

There are, it's true, good visual tricks, such as the illusion of a woman breaking in half, and the chanting is evocative, but the trampolining is sub-schools grade, and the 'central element of the show', the swathe of Arabic fabric (the taoub of the title) that's meant to morph from tent to dress to video screen, just looks like a piece of fabric.

It's rather a shame, because on paper all sounds promising.

Circus Front Season: Collectif Acrobatique De Tangier: Taoub