When people use the expression, “you just had to be there”, it’s usually to prevent what they have to say from being taken out of context, and that is exactly the expression that sums up Head First Acrobats new Brighton Fringe production, Railed.
The full house signs are out, and there is an air of excited anticipation in the Spiegeltent as, although we know that Head First Acrobats are tumblers, jugglers, aerialists, comedians and, as their name would suggest, supreme acrobats, we don’t really know what to expect from the show.
The only clue is that the set does resemble some sort of Wild West Saloon and, as the house lights in the Spiegeltent dim and the music starts thumping, AJ, Adam, Cal and Harley burst onto the stage in full cowboy gear… riding Hobby Horses. See, you just had to be there!
What follows is an hour of quite adult humour mixed in with the kind of feats of incredible strength and dexterity that might, more usually, be associated with the circus. Whether they are balancing high above the stage on a pile of wooden chairs (or a metal ladder), being fired up to the roof from a see-saw, spinning wildly in a Cyr Wheel or forming a human pyramid, every part of the performance is a masterclass in the many amazing ways that the human body can perform.
And taking of bodies… well, the pictures don’t lie. I saw the guys warming up behind the Spiegeltent before the show but I’m not sure that they need to, those bodies aren’t just warm – they are hot! As the show progresses, more and more of the cowboy outfits are removed and the, already enthusiastic, audience rapidly reaches fever pitch.
As mentioned earlier, this is a show that you really have to see to get the full effect. No words can accurately put into context how four “drunk” cowboys together with a very well endowed horse and a flirtatious unicorn can appear together with card tricks and circus acts – but they do, and the resulting performance is a real highlight of the Brighton Fringe 2019. Get tickets for this incredible show while you still can!
Five Stars *****