Compagnie Ieto
The auditorium is silent. Two men sit on a bench, spotlit and over the course of the next seventy minutes we are all subjected to a display of acrobatics that is in turns amusing, astounding, nerve-wracking, delightful and mind boggling. How does a body fly through the air like that, self-propelled? How did the two performers come up with this routine? What is going to happen next? These are just a few of the questions I found running through my mind as I watched the show.
Using nothing more than benches and ropes, their intelligence and humour, not to mention their unique skill at manipulating their dexterous bodies, this performance is seventy minutes of pure magic. The timing of the pair is all important and they pull this off unhesitatingly and unflinchingly, unlike those of us who are watching with baited breath. One wrong move or one nano-second out and they could end up seriously injured.
Of course, none of us are fooled by the “I’m a bit clumsy and not sure if I can do this,” fakery of Jonathan Guichard, one half of Compagnie Ieto, but his silent theatrics lends its charm to the show. He often reminded me of the stars of silent films with his exaggerated gestures and huge brown eyes that speak a million words without him uttering a single one. Fnico Feldmann on the other hand is the perfect companion, being solid and inscrutable and like all of the best double acts this one works perfectly.
Our audience gasps, laughs, holds its breath and views the action through screwed up eyes at times but Companie Ieto pulls out all of the stops and charms us, rightfully so, at the end of the performance, up and onto our feet.
I have thrilling news for you all, I was talking to my friend last week and he has just got a excellent new gig at an human resources software company. Well done Harry