Review From: The Circus Yard ‘Big Puck’, Brighton Fringe Festival; 25th May 2025
At 10am on a Sunday morning, it is sadly a small audience that greets disabled and non-disabled multidisciplinary company Head Over Wheels. That, however, does not diminish the energy that the company put into this show.
In the centre of the ring is a three-sided scaffold tower and to the side is a drum kit and a double bass. There are three devisers and performers: Tilly-Lee Kronick, an interdisciplinary artist grounded in contemporary dance and theatre who studied at Circomedia; Jonny Leitch, musician and aerialist who got into circus through being able to walk on his hands, and Phoebe Knight, a multidisciplinary artist who studied dance at Laban.
Accompanying the three performers is a sign language interpreter, and the cast members are equipped with head worn lavalier microphones so they can describe the show for the visually impaired and the rest of the audience. Unfortunately, the sound quality is not great during this performance and I need to work hard to make out the spoken words.
Phoebe introduces the scaffold tower: four metres high, we are told, with the rungs on each side set at different heights. Jonny then wheels himself around the structure before leaving his chair to climb the tower, giving us his associations with the tower including safety, challenges, structure and freedom.
Jonny switches to the drums, Phoebe to the double bass and Tilly climbs the tower and displays various moves and balances that she describes as she goes. The description, even of simple moves, adds considerably to the movement, more than I would have imagined. Following an explanation of how the tower can be set up, Phoebe and Tilly counterweight each other in turn as they ascend and descend on a rope, demonstrating flexibility and grace, then Jonny performs on and around his wheelchair as it is suspended in the air. This includes trapeze-like moves under the chair using an axle as the trapeze bar. The trio move around the frame then Jonny plays percussion on his ‘chair in the air’ leaning down to strike a cymbal held up by Phoebe.
Thanks in large part to the description that accompanies the action, the piece sustains interest for its 40-minute duration. It is not sensationalist, and it is not about superhumans. It is aerial work grounded in the real-life interests, capabilities and collaboration of its makers.
Supported by Without Walls and commissioned by the Brighton Festival and Certain Blacks. Co-commissioned by Arts Council England, 101 Outdoor Arts and Jacksons Lane.
