Review from: Assembly Hall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe; 1st August 2025
The first thing that comes to my mind watching The Genesis is ‘Wow, there’s so many of them’. The performers just keep on coming to the stage. Copenhagen Collective consists of 17 acrobats from various countries, and that seems a lot when they are all on stage together.
The next thought, is that a three-high is not a big thing anymore, at least not for this company. It seems everyone is doing it, breathing it, all the time, in slightly different ways, and with relative ease. There are a lot of different throws and entries of course, so it doesn’t get boring, and many tricks are done higher than one usually sees them. There are also some beautiful exchanges of humans between two-highs.
The feeling – especially at the start – is very dark, energetic and even aggressive. The beginning is also quite chaotic, with all of the performers running around the stage in a circle that at times has others performing in the middle. If chaos before order is the feeling they are after, they do succeed in that. The other side of the chaos though, is that there are so many things happening that it’s hard to decide who to look at. That makes me feel a bit of FOMO as an audience member even though I’m right there in front of the action. Later in the show there are acts which have the whole stage to themselves, and those ones are – at least for me – more easily enjoyable.
When 15 people in black clothes build five three-highs on front of a black stage, the created look is impressive, though it isn’t the most demanding trick this group does. And when they add one extra person on top of one of the towers, and the flyer comes down freefall, I feel shivers in my spine.
The variety of acrobatic towers, banquine and pitching are impressive, and I especially enjoy the three-highs built by women only, which deserve an extra thank you. It shouldn’t be something one needs to mention anymore, and this company are not the only ones doing it, but I’ll mention it anyway. Let’s just not make a fuss about women being strong – I’m just glad to see it on stage more often nowadays.
Some of the hardest tricks didn’t succeed properly, but that will probably change during Fringe and add some wows to the show. There are also some moments when performers need more light on them to be seen properly, possibly also because it is only their first show in the venue after yesterday’s preview.
Another memorable visual piece in the show is the one advertised on their poster, where an acrobatic duo perform on top of a pile of the other performers. I did wonder during that section (and also during some other shows who advertise their work with the most iconic photo of the performance), does the knowing in advance that it will come make the actual seeing less of an experience? Do we need to know beforehand what we pay for if the surprise of the moment is then made a bit lukewarm?
There are so many skilful acrobats in the ensemble that it’s possible to use four or five groups to perform the same act on stage simultaneously. Perfecting the rhythm in those acts would elevate them even higher, whether things are happening at the same time or in canon one after another after another after another. It seems to get more in sync towards the end though.
Because of the name of the show, I had expected to see more animal, evolution or biblical reference on stage, but this Genesis isn’t about them, and it’s not religious in any way. According to a dictionary, ‘genesis’ means the coming into being of something. For me, the story was about human connection and collaboration and how it brings order in chaos. The Collective themselves says the show reflects a modern world where individual brilliance finds its ultimate strength in collective harmony.
Endings are not easy, but the choreography closes this story beautifully at the end, showing without words that the trust that was wished for in the beginning is now gained.
CREDITS
Artists:
Alfred Kriegbaum, DK
Ange Viaud, FR/UK
Bernardo Vargas, PE
Claire Bindoff, AUS
David Ullrich, GER
Federico Cabruja, ARG
Eloisa Trinidad, URU
Gonzalo Martinez, URU
Maeva Desplat, FR
Marilou Verschelden, CAN
Nathan Briscoe, CAN
Nicolás Gonzalez, CHI
Ronan Jenkinson, IRE
Samuel Barnes, UK
Shona Morgan, AUS
Sónia Matos, PORT
Todd (Ted) Degnan, USA
Technicians: Joshua Iciakene, FR
Manager: Craig Dagostino, SCT
Creative team Direction & Choreography: Patrick King & Johan King Silverhult
Re-staging, Dramaturgy & Choreography: Daniel Gulko
Assistant Direction and Choreography: Britta Oling
Acrobatic Coaches: Søren Flor & Craig Dagostino
Composer: Leif Jordansson
Light conception: Stefan Goldbaum Tarabini
Costume Design: Julie Hendel, Louise Egebro, and Camilla Suleima.
Filmmakers: Luke Chadwick-Jones & Remy Archer
