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Magical view of Vietnamese village life

Clarissa PhillipsThe West Australian
VideoLang Toi, roughly translated from Vietnamese as 'My Village' is being showcased as part of Perth Festival. The performers, half of them almost 40 years old are set to wow Perth audiences.

CIRCUS

Lang Toi

4 stars

Regal Theatre

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REVIEW CLARISSA PHILLIPS

Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam has returned to Perth Festival after making its Australian debut here two years ago.

This time, it has brought Lang Toi, the first show the company created 10 years ago.

Those who enjoyed A O Lang Pho will see very different performance this time around, although one that is just as mesmerising.

The circus begins in the morning in a Vietnamese village, with its inhabitants going about their daily lives while four live musicians play on stage, and moves through their day.

Fifteen acrobats use bamboo and string to create moving structures to perform on, through and with.

The bamboo poles, in particular, are used as pieces of art that weave in and out of one another, to create stilts, houses, bridges and rafts, to frame the performers and to add to the drama of the astonishing ways they contort their bodies.

Stories of traditional daily life, romance, chaos and work are told while acrobats swing and leap across the stage to pulsating live music.

One highlight that will leave you laughing are the trio of clowns who turn their quirky interactions into a clever juggling/percussion act.

While the staging is simple, the lighting, the incredible acrobats, musicians and bamboo props all work to transform the stage from land to sea, while transporting the audience with it.

The production is uplifting, with the artists adding lots of energy and a little bit of magic to create a circus like you’ve never seen before. It’ll be hard to sit through Lang Toi without a smile on your face and your toes tapping.

Lang Toi is on tomorrow until Sunday

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