Gods and mythology seem to be a common trend in the theatre world, especially when it comes to dance and circus. I mean, it makes sense. There’s so many amazing characters to portray and stories to tell. Personally, I love Greek mythology, probably from all the years of playing Age of Mythology back in the 2000s.
Award-winning Melbourne based entertainers Head First Acrobats have crafted the show Godz, which takes on Greek mythology at full force with a super fun, tongue in cheek sense of humour. The show is narrated by God himself, and features the story of Hercules, Cupid, Apollo, and Dionysus as they go about their lives in ancient Greece.
The show starts on a very serious note, as the lights come up from darkness four perfectly sculpted, muscular men in Greek outfits are on the stage, perched upon chairs, striking poses like marble statues. They come to life, dancing around the stage in the middle of the venue, The Vault. But the serious tone doesn’t last long, is soon dropped and the humour and fun shine through.
The four talented performers, Thomas, Liam, Cal, and Jordan absolutely own this stage with incredible confidence and palpable energy that’s absolutely contagious, and the air above it with their aerial acrobatics. While they are all incredible circus and dance performers, all of them have their special talents too.
Thomas Gorham is an incredible break dancer which he exhibits multiple times throughout the show, Liam Dummer is spectacular with the aerial acrobatics dangling from ropes by all of his limbs, and even his teeth! Cal Harris is the master of balance, often finding himself in high level predicaments.
All four of these men absolutely oozed charisma and jelled amazingly on stage with great chemistry, even when they found themselves in some embarrassing situations involving no clothing and silver platters. They also had great chemistry with the crowd too, shooting cheeky winks and nods to members of the audience, and drawing some into participating in the show a little. And who doesn’t love a little bit of crowd participation?
One of my favourite parts, and maybe a little cheesy, was Jordan Twartz’s incredible moments with his Yoho Diabolo! I was not expecting to see one in the show, and I was instantly transported back to my childhood and the absolute desire I once had to own one, but never did! While Jordan had a few hiccups with this bit, I was amazed with his control of this whacky device and it had me smiling with glee!
There were so many highlights in Godz, and another stand out for me was when Hercules is banished to hell! But due to some vaccine issues he’s not allowed into regular hell, so instead Hercules is sent to Catholic hell! Cue the absolutely amazing dance and circus sequence featuring sexy nuns, whip cracking, and all sound tracked by a pumping remix of Rihanna’s S&M. I was in raptures, almost to the point of tears!
Head First Acrobats’ Godz is sexy, exhilarating, extremely funny and an absolute blast! The show left me buzzing and with a stupid grin on my face. It’s incredibly fun and so smartly made that if you don’t enjoy it, then there may be something wrong with you!
Godz is playing at The Vault at Fool’s Paradise until March 19th as part of Adelaide Fringe 2023.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/godz-af2023
https://www.headfirstacrobats.com