[author-post-rating] (3/5)
The beginning of Limb2Limb’s Circles starts out by questioning gender norms, as a girl finds a box of toys before giving her sleeping brother the cars whilst she goes off to play with the teacups. As he awakes, they each play with their assigned objects separately, looking over to the other for reassurance but failing to share in the joy of their particular fun. It’s a smart piece of stagecraft which sets up the dynamics between these siblings but doesn’t quite carry through to the rest of the piece.
Kate and Alex are siblings, and here they recount the story of their life growing up together, playing with tense so that we skip from past to present to future and structuring the narrative carefully in order for the final reveal to have maximum impact. Their relationship changes as they grow older, yet they are always there for each other, with each conforming to type; Kate teases Alex while he is often a little too protective. But there’s a reason for that, and therein lies the basis of the show’s drama.
Utilising a blend of physical theatre and monologue, Circles asks us questions about a relationship between siblings. The piece is well staged in an unforgiving room in Merchant’s Hall, but oftentimes the choreography feels a bit too much like it has been lifted out of a Frantic Assembly textbook, and doesn’t build on the work of its predecessors. I longed for more physical interrogation of the themes rather than similar routines repeated in slightly different ways.
The performances from Leah Georges and Oliver Theobald are both effective, with the former especially proving particularly strong in later scenes. There is a clear chemistry at work, and they bounce off one another easily to highlight changes in time and tempo. All the time, however, it feels like the pair could be doing more to challenge and provoke, and though it’s an accomplished piece of physical storytelling, I’d love to see this company pushed out of its comfort zone.
Circles is at Spotlites @ The Merchant’s Hall until 17 August. For more information and tickets visit the Edinburgh Fringe website.