Absinthe

Absinthe breaks all the boundaries of circus. All of them. No racial group or culture is exempt from ridicule here, especially anyone from the entire Asian continent. White liberals, gays, lesbians, the middle-aged, the young and nerdy; everyone is made an example of. This show sits somewhere between the genres of cabaret, comedy and traditional circus, somehow pulling off all three. There’s hetero make-outs, lesbian action, a naked woman in a bubble and a lot of homoerotic innuendo. The performers come from all over: Ukraine, the US, Poland, Sweden and more. It sort of seems like the creators have noticed all the absurdity inherent in circus performance and shone a light on it. For example, it is kind of weird and homoerotic that two muscled men touch each other on the trapeze: Absinthe just acknowledges how obvious this is with comedy sketches while the two performers complete something death-defying on the wire.  In this way, watching Absinthe is a relief. It is confronting, grotesque, in your face, progressive, and exactly where we’ve hoped circus would head towards for years. It is truly original work that isn’t trying to be Cirque du Soleil and is going out on its own. If you love the circus and wish they would break more rules, Absinthe is completely your jam.