⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a half
Avast, me hearties! Hailing from Melbourne, Express Move Me, have landed at Fringe World with an acrobatic adventure for the whole family.
This pirate themed circus act follows a crew of pirates on their quest to find treasure. I thought it was a brilliant device for keeping the kids engaged!
Most circus shows are just a collection of acts. Kids can get easily bored watching them, regardless of how skilled the artists are.
However, the storyline hooks the audience. We found ourselves leaning forward in anticipation of what’s going to happen next.
Add some nautical themed tricks (rebranding the silks as “sails” was genius!) and the bumbling antics of the crew and you’re on to a winner.
The pirates are brilliant at interacting with the kids. EVERYONE in the cast went around the room, taking on suggestions and engaging with audience members.
I loved that this act had a storyline but the pirates’ misadventures had some kids TOO invested.
During our session, there were three older children in front of us who got particularly frustrated with the pirates’ intentional bumbling and were vehemently screaming at them. Some kids were also too comfortable in this setting and were quite rude towards the performers
At this point, I must segue briefly to give the team a huge kudos for maintaining their act despite the screaming.
This level of investment isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is the hallmark of an engrossing storyline.
But if your kids are sensitive to noise and commotion, considering bringing headphones to muffle the rowdier kids.
When I saw that this show was at the Gold Digger, I had concerns that the space would be too small for the acrobats. The crew managed beautifully but I think they would have benefitted from a little extra space for more tomfoolery.
Similarly, while it was nice for the kids to have a closer view of the aerials, I think a little more wiggle room would mean less stress for the performers.
Perhaps the artists wanted to be conservative with their first WA run. However, yesterday’s show was packed, so I know that these buccaneers would easily fill a bigger venue in the future.
In fact, given how fun a romp this show is, this landlubber has no doubt that the remaining shows will sell out.