A Simple Space serves up acrobatic feats without the sequins, at the Kay Meek Arts Centre May 22

Aussie troupe Gravity & Other Myths’ stripped-down spectacle has been a hit around the world

Gravity & Other Myths’ *A Simple Space*. Photo by Chris Herzfeld

A Simple Space is at the Kay Meek Arts Centre on May 22 at 7:30 pm

VISITORS WHO CAUGHT Gravity & Other Myths’ The Mirror at the Vancouver Playhouse in 2024 knows the Aussie company serves up circus with cheekiness: in that sophisticated, ever-shifting funhouse, the troupe cavorted acrobatically in skivvies, with plenty of naughty laughs.

A Simple Space, last viewed in town at the York Theatre in 2015, is more indie-feeling and stripped-down—a circus extravaganza that builds a raw intimacy with the audience unlike anything you’d see at Cirque du Soleil.

Backed by the driving rhythm of live percussionist Nick Martyn, the troupe gives audiences a closeup view of bodies struggling in the moment—and receives whoops and cheers in return. The Kay Meek’s Grosvenor Theatre, at just under five hundred seats, is about the perfect size to enjoy the frank artistry.

Some of the artists in Gravity and Other Myths started as dancers then became acrobats; for some it was the other way around. Either way, it lends the company’s work a flow and finesse.

But gone are the sequins, heavy makeup, and theatrical set pieces of Vegas-style circus: what you get here are humans pushing themselves to the limits of gravity and space with the enthusiasm of a bunch of kids at the playground.

Rave reviews have met the show’s tours around the world, with the U.K.’s The Guardian calling it a “total triumph”.

As artistic director Darcy Grant told Stir last year: “The struggle and the limits—it’s infinitely watchable. There’s a real culture inside the company to a) never recycle content, and b) to always be pushing and searching for a new kind of obsession, a new style of acrobatics or movement or other new language.”

So yes, there are all the spectacles and feats you expect at a night at the circus, but also a sense of team spirit and communal support that you might not expect.

Featured

Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

Articles

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark captures the inner turmoil of a man zeroed in on revenge

In a DanceHouse presentation, Guillaume Côté and Robert Lepage stage their tightly paced adaptation of Shakespeare’s story

In Fall(se) Circ(us), dancers embrace cycles of frenzied work and relatable exhaustion

At the Roundhouse, Little Room Productions’ inaugural piece draws on choreographer Isak Enquist’s lifelong experience in martial arts

Renowned choreographer Noam Gagnon performs a deeply personal solo live-scored by Stefan Smulovitz, March 11 to 14

The piece by Vision Impure, called being, comes to KW Studios courtesy of Kokoro Dance Theatre Society

In Show Gone, Ame Henderson and Matija Ferlin question the nature of endings

The Dance Centre and Vancouver International Dance Festival coproduction concludes a triptych spanning over 15 years

Dance review: At Ballet BC's INFINITY, Jiří Kylián and Crystal Pite take viewers into strange, subconscious limbos

Contemporary-art-like 27’52’”makes elaborate play with shadows and time, while Frontier reveals new narrative and thematic complexity

Little Room Productions premieres inaugural piece Fall(se) Circ(us), March 21

New Works copresents Isak Enquist's genre-defying fusion of martial arts and contemporary dance influences

Arts Umbrella Dance Company hosts Tempus Fugit: A Midseason Performance, February 26 and 27

Program features pieces by leading choreographers, including Anne Jung, Lukas Timulak, Rebecca Margolick, and Cyril Baldy

At Ballet BC’s INFINITY, Medhi Walerski pays tribute to two works that impacted his career

As a young dancer at Nederlands Dans Theater, the artistic director was in on the creation of both Jiří Kylián’s 27’52” and Crystal Pite’s Frontier

Dance community mourns Peter Bingham, father of contact dance in Vancouver

Based for decades at Western Front, long-time EDAM artistic director created more than 50 works and took part in hundreds of performances

DanceHouse hosts the B.C. premiere of Ex Machina and Côté Danse's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, March 18 to 21

With community partners Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival and Théâtre la Seizième, bold reinterpretation of the tragic play hits the stage

Dance review: Flowing forms and abstract storytelling in Royal Winnipeg Ballet double bill

T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods heralds an exciting new voice, while Carmina Burana strips the work down to its essence

Hoop dance and Métis jigging meet as Beany John and Sophie Dow take the stage at Matriarchs Uprising

The Dance Centre and O.Dela Arts present the piece that draws on the performers’ Indigenous ancestors

New Works hosts inaugural dance-focused Leadership in Practice Symposium, March 22

One-day gathering for artists, educators, and choreographers explores how leadership can be more responsive to the dance world

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods braids Indigenous storytelling with classical dance

Rising Tla’amin choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe draws on a tale he heard growing up for a large-scale work that joins Carmina Burana on a double bill

Ballet Jörgen gives Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream a ’50s Albertan twist

Fun riffs on the classic include a moose-headed Bottom wearing buffalo plaid and an appearance by a royal couple

Dance review: Coregulation and calm, as Action at a Distance’s WAIL sculpts vocal sound and movement

In this PuSh Fest, Music on Main, and Dance Centre premiere, humming songs, whispered words, and hypnotic movement bring a sense of serenity and connection to a chaotic world

In The Brutal Joy, Justine A. Chambers channels the overwhelming beauty of Black living

With staging that evokes a Chicago jazz bar, the Dance Centre and PuSh Festival co-presentation draws on matrilineal fashion and line dancing

Ballet BC highlights masterful choreographers Crystal Pite and Jiří Kylián with INFINITY, February 26 to 28

Program features Pite’s Frontier, a deep dive into the unknown, and Kylián’s 27’52”, an exploration of theoretical elements

Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer

In a riveting PuSh Festival and New Works copresentation, Belgium’s Cherish Menzo plays with repetition, chopped-and-screwed music, and flashing dental grillz