Malo and the Moon-Maiden, Circus
Venue: Guy Butler Theatre
Next performance: Saturday 5 July 11:00
Review
By Rosa-Karoo Loewe
Daily Dispatch
The circus has come to town with a whirl of red cabaret twirls.
Malo and the Moon-Maiden is family-friendly fun with acrobatics, pyrotechnics and an overarching message to stand up to bullies and be kind. As the programme says, it tells the story of Malo the Clown and his eternal devotion to Melodia Luna, the celestial Moon Maiden, set against the backdrop of a once-glorious circus faded by time.
Written and directed by Janice Honeyman, the story of the old circus comes alive with a cast of flexible and fit circus folk, performing across the land under the tyranny of the evil ringmaster’s hunger for fame and fortune.
The show is a musical, with a cast of nine artists with beautiful voices. The backing track volume could be turned down slightly so that the live singing can be more clearly heard – my ears and eyes scrunched up in protest during the big numbers.
The production stars Craig Morris, a physical theatre master, as Malo. Morris has been coming to the National Arts Festival since 1992 and has received several Ovation Awards for his productions, including the Standard Bank Gold Ovation Award in 2015 for his performance in Johnny Boskak is Feeling Funny. Here we see him as a “classic sad clown” with so much heart and gentle kindness.
Claudia Moruzzi, who dazzles in a glittery outfit and ballet shoes to match, is a master of the aerial arts (just like her bio says). While she is from the stars, Malo the Clown is meant to make people laugh, here on the ground. And so he returns to bring joy back into the dusty, old, high-top.
My little cuzzies, who are five and eight, recognised the longing of two people who love each other, but can’t be together.
I hope Festival audiences will be a bit braver than ours was, and participate more enthusiastically because it is fun. It’s light-hearted. It got us going “Wooo!” while creating a Mexican wave across the Guy Butler Theatre.
Although your Oupa might take a nap during the slow bits, the kids will certainly leave happy and bright-eyed.
