“There is a fine line between the genius and the idiot, similar to the conflict within ourselves: the battle between the instinct and the intellect. The idiot is often equated with stupidity and the instinct with the animalistic. On the other side the genius is often regarded as human and equated with intellectuality.
What makes us a genius and what makes us an idiot?”
Vivid and outrageous in equal measure All Genius All Idiot revels in the absurdities of life, using extreme circus artistry to highlight human behavior at its most animalistic. Svalbard bends the edges of contemporary circus and blends it with theatre, dance and live music to create a truly original piece that you will remember for its surreal quality as well as its awe-inspiring skills
and realness. All Genius All Idiot features Chinese pole, aerial rope, hand balance and acrobatics, driven by a hauntingly beautiful and at times bizarre original soundtrack, played live by the performers.
We will be all singing all dancing all flying
all crying all rocking all genius all idiots!
All Genius All Idiot premiered at Jatka 78 Prague in 2016 and was awarded ”best circus and physical theatre” at the Adelaide Fringe weekly awards in 2016. The show has been touring the world in dance, circus & theatre festivals, alongside traditional theatres and fringe venues with over 100 performances to date, in 20 countries and across 4 continents to hugely success.
“You don’t know if you can trust them, nor where characterisation stops and the performers’ egos take over. Still, I have no regrets being in the company of such defiantly skilful, invigorating provocateurs. Svalbard, whose members met while training in Sweden, could be a cult. Remnants of their show may well be still lurking in my subconscious.”
Donald Hutera – The Times, August 2017
“The company really explores what it is to recognise the animal inside us and to nurture it into a wild beast. The performance is breath-taking in its freedom, even in the circus world – and so much fun. It is absurd only because they want it to be, and because it suits them; there is nothing false about this.” ….. “Whatever you expect, it’s weirder and more wonderful. Come with an open mind and you won’t be disappointed.”
Imogen Rowe – Edinburgh Guide, August 2017
“The quality of talent is surreal and it’s refreshing to see a circus show that isn’t focused just on the spectacle. The title summarises the play perfectly: it is incredibly idiotic, but certainly genius. It’s tribal, sleazy, sensual and raw, and looks dangerous, which is just what we want.”
Alistair Wilkinson – Broadway World, August 2017
”A visceral, gender bending display of strength and creativity, All Genius, All Idiot is not like any other circus performance you will see. It is as diverse as the characters themselves – filled with complexity and contradiction.”
Lisa Banks – Rip it up, February 2016
”Never has a show been better named. Crazy, anarchic and all over the place with high octane energy. Arriving just in time and taking one of the last seats at the very front, I felt I was at the brunt of a rollercoaster, along for the ride.”
Lucy Loves Circus, February 2016
“All Genius All Idiot is circus as a liminal act, on the edge between civilization and the wilds, between circus and music, between animal and human, between the genders, between and the real and otherworldly. It is a hedonistic celebration of the Bacchanalian spirit.”
Thomas JM Wilson – Total Theatre
Credits
Performers
Benjamin Smith, Alexis Akrovatakis, Tom Brand, Santiago Ruiz Albalate
Authors
Benjamin Smith, John Simon Wiborn, Tom Brand, Santiago Ruiz Albalate
Artistic collaboration with
Zuzana Rezna
Light and sound technician
Ernesto Monza
Exterior eye
Methinee Wongtrakoon
Exterior eye/Acrobatic coach
Bahoz Temaux
Musical exterior eye
Mae Karthäuser
Costume
Michiel Tange van Leeuwen
Producer
Thea Hope
Supported by
Konstnärsnämnden, Kulturrådet, Arts Council England, Glastonbury Arts Commission, Stockholms Stad, Subtopia, Cirk la Putyka, Cirkör LAB & Jacksons Lane
Information
duration: 75 minutes without intermission
age limit: 12 years and older (recommendation)
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