Review from: Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe; 1st August 2024
If you know, you know. And if you don’t, you are about to discover the extraordinary genius of world class juggling superpower Wes Peden for yourself. The ingenuity and technical mastery put into this work create an hour of open-mouthed admiration – in wonder one minute, in laughter the next.
A voice-over lets us know that we are the passengers about to ride the rollercoaster, and joins as again at intervals throughout to impart facts. Facts about the history of rollercoaster development, and facts about the colourful figure of Wes himself. Facts that weave conceptual connections between the thematic material and the physical manouvering of eclectic bespoke props. Giant plastic tubes and inflatable shapes become tracks, which moving balls follow or leave to create their own trajectories.
An idiosyncratic sense of colour energises the stage and envigorates the complex tricks we watch. Because Wes makes this stuff look simple. Wrapping and rewrapping a length of ridged plastic tubing around his arms and torso, embodying the rollercoaster of the title and sending hot pink balls on the ride of their lives without pause. He knots and twists and swings this tube around his body whilst navigating his passengers through with deceptive smoothness.
Sounds of fairground attractions and their thrilled riders segue through animal noises to electro beats, as we are treated to an endless stream of new sights. The amount of experimentation that has gone into this show is mindboggling, and Peden’s pleasure is apparent in his shining eyes and self-impressed grin. He exhibits a truly post-ironic reverence to his craft.
Rainbow coloured juggling rings and matching clubs fly about the stage. Spinning plates are attached to finger loops, allowing him to twist them in rollercoaster whorls around his body. A trio of puffy blue shapes, like misformed pretzels as tall and as wide as Wes himself are drawn into the action as playground and platform for beanbag balls to roll and fly over. If it sounds bonkers, it is. A sequence of tricks celebrated with his own flourishes or crash routines has us all on board laughing and gasping along.
This show, presented by Gandini Juggling, was the reason I took the last minute decision to visit Edinburgh this year. I am not disappointed. The poster images don’t adequately hint at the vibrancy of the live show and – unless you’re a juggler – with the alternative performance advocacy of the Total Theatre Awards missing from this year’s festival, this unusual spectacle could be one of the best kept secrets on the Fringe. Don’t let yourself miss out.
