Monday, December 31, 2007

The Uglies

Underground circus is alive, but not particularly well, in Barcelona. After some persuasion, we went to see a circus show by "Las Feas" ("The Uglies") at a well known bomb shelter of a bar in Gracia. Despite starting well after 11:00 pm, the show attracted a huge audience, including a handful of kids, adding to the carnival atmosphere. The bar was packed tight like a drum as The Feas took the stage. The crowd was drunk, happy and enthusiastic. Sadly, the show was weak and unrehearsed. The music was crude, the acts were cruder, and no one seemed to understand basic theatrical concepts like "timing" or "speaking to the audience."

Two bright spots: the juggler, from Argentina, beautifully manipulated lightbulbs in a way I had never seen before. And the ringleader was hot and compelling. She has her own website here , which is better than the circus by leaps and bounds.

A well-rehearsed underground circus like Circus Contraption would triumph in this town.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bring the Ringleader to Islewilde!