Acrobatics: Knee Deep

We'd arranged to go to Glór in Ennis yesterday evening, to see an acrobatics performance by Casus - an Australian company - called Knee Deep. Then my mother wasn't keen, when she realised that the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Qualifier (for entry to the quarter-finals) between Clare and Wexford was scheduled for that afternoon, in Cusack Park. In Ennis. She was worried about parking, but I eventually persuaded her.

On the way, it occurred to me that, instead of eating in the Old Ground Hotel, as we are wont to do when we have to go to Mass as well, in the cathedral across the road - we could stop at The Grove on the outskirts of town. Parking wouldn't be a problem, and we could head into town for Mass, and then the show, after the match had finished and the crowds dispersed. So that's what we did.

She had salmon, as usual - seeing a special offer on steak, I decided to go for that. It soon became obvious that they were watching the match in the bar, which is separated from the restaurant area. We could follow Clare's fortunes by the crowd's audible reaction (a cheer for a Clare point, a roar for a Clare goal - silence for a Wexford score). My mother remarked on the lack of atmosphere where we were sitting, in comparison.. I followed the score more precisely on my phone. As for the food, well, I believe she liked the salmon. My steak was a bit so-so, but filling; I could've done without the sauce though, which was quite tasteless. Given that the match went to extra time, we decided to have some ice cream for dessert. Popped over to the side, where I could see the telly, to watch the end of the match - it was a thriller, with Clare coming from a substantial distance behind to level the match, and then take the lead, and this with one man down! Then Wexford rallied, and matched them point-for-point, until finally it ended in a draw, and they have to do it all again next Saturday. In Semple Stadium, in Thurles, for the sake of having a neutral venue.

Well, we finally ventured into town. We were wise to eat on the outskirts; we met the sea of people - cars and pedestrians - exiting the stadium before too long. We were surprised how far out they'd obviously had to park - this was, without doubt, a capacity crowd. We made decent progress until we reached Clon Road. This isn't too far from the stadium, and a lot of people had parked off to the side of this road, and now wanted to be let back into traffic. So a road that would normally take me approximately 30 seconds to drive down, yesterday took 25 minutes. Just as well we were early!

The town had pretty much emptied after the match, and parking wasn't now a problem. We got Mass, and made our way nice and early to the venue. When we went in, I noticed they've apparently done away with the book-swap they had just inside the door. Nuts! That was handy for getting rid of old books. Just as well I'd forgotten the one I'd intended to bring. Anyhoo, I collected our tickets and we settled ourselves with an ice cream (hey, it's July!) and a glass of wine at one of the café tables until it was time to go in to the auditorium. It's a funny thing when you have central seats - they can never decide which door to send you in by. So first, we were told we'd enter by the first door - when we tried to do so, the person on the door sent us to the other door. Maybe because most people were using that first door.

Our seats were fine, except on the flat, and my mother complained that she couldn't see properly, with the big head attached to the guy sitting in front of her. We managed, though. We noticed a trio taking their seats, still bravely wearing their Wexford jerseys! Ooh.. the nerve! ;-) Just before the show started, one of the performers - as evidenced by his accent - made the pre-show announcement about fire exits, and not recording. He also told us that one of them (turned out to be the female performer on the promotional material) wouldn't be performing that night because of injury. Yep, par for the course in this game, and unsurprising, considering how they push themselves, as I've said before.

The show ran for slightly under an hour, and was reworked for three performers. I've seen quite a few shows of this kind lately. Some are purely focused on the physical feats - think A Simple Space - some develop a theme, like La Meute. Actually, the group that performs A Simple Space is also Australian. What is it with Australia.. does it have a great circus school or something?

This show was, apparently, the sell-out act at last year's Galway Arts Festival. Now, I always used to go to the Galway Arts Festival when I lived in the area. I've been going since I was a kid - I think it's fantastic. Knowing it as I do, and the kind of acts it favours, it wasn't a surprise to see that Knee Deep takes an artistic bent. With a hypnotic soundtrack running throughout, the performers are as concerned with dance moves, the flow of performance, and the different meanings you can attach to - er - eggs, as with feats of strength and balance. Yes, eggs. Eggs feature prominently in this show. They have a couple of full egg boxes at the front of the stage before the show starts. The first act involves walking gingerly along the stage, on top of the eggs in their boxes. Well, of course, they're strong at the ends. Eggs, that is. And then they hold eggs as they balance, as you would expect. Just to make it harder.

As the show progresses, they introduce some comedy routines, to shake things up a bit. But there's no dilution of the acrobatics, which are the equal of any I've seen. It was refreshing to be part of an audience that was obviously less jaded than what I'm used to in London, and ooh-ed and aah-ed and gasped appreciatively at various bits. The performers liked that too! And it was nice that they got a standing ovation at the end. As my mother remarked, as we were getting ready to leave, "They're very fit!" Yes mother, just what I was thinking..

And when we got home, as usual, there was no internet downstairs, and by the time I went to bed, I was too tired to blog. And today, there were a whole host of other things to do before I left. So here I am, finally filling you in, when I should already have taken my shower! Lordy, what a busy existence. For tomorrow, I've just booked for Mr. Burns, at the Almeida. Should be good for us Simpsons fans - apparently, it's set in a post-apocalyptic world where people get by on the ethos of the Simpsons. Got one of the last three seats in the stalls - it's hard to get tickets for the big shows these days. At least, since it's not in the centre, I shouldn't run into travel problems, what with the Tour de France being in town tomorrow..