YUCK Circus: WREKD @ The Rechabite
Saturday, December 4, 2021
WREKD, presented by YUCK Circus, is unconventional and immersive in the best possible way. Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape fittingly decorated with chains and barbed wire bringing an industrial touch to the Rechabite Hall, WREKD lives up to its unorthodox name.
In WREKD, the multiple award-winning (nearly) all-female performance crew, YUCK Circus, bring together a stunning alternative variety show. WREKD features feats of almost unimaginable human strength and flexibility with an edge: the soundtrack consists of 70s, 80s and 90s rock classics, featuring everyone from Eurythmics to Led Zeppelin. This, combined with the post-apocalyptic theme, provided for a surreal and captivating experience.
The show is a masterful blend of an immersive freakshow circus variety show, combined with 80s syndicated wrestling, taking inspiration from punk rock, riot grrl, BDSM, glam rock, Australiana (AC/DC is heavily featured) and a hint of science fiction.
Made specifically for The Rechabite hall, the performers definitely made use of their surroundings: the levelled scaffolding was climbed upon, with riot grrl-esque artists abseiling across the platforms and throwing popcorn from floor-to-floor. It was a truly immersive experience, with a contagious ‘f*** you’ attitude.
Each performer played a specific character with defiant personalities, a la syndicated wrestling: from the ET-esque creature strewn with a sheet and quoting childhood nursery rhymes, to the 80s wild child-esque heroine strewn with Barbie doll parts. The show is like Girls Gone Wild, punk style: one performer lit a sparkler between her buttcheeks and abseiled from the third storey, down to the stage! A diverse range of performances followed each character: group jump rope, a chainsaw violin, walking on Lego (a modern take on a freakshow classic), all to an equally impressive standard.
In true variety show tradition, WREKD consisted of breaks where ‘mini’ acrobatic performances were combined with the presentation of feeding platters and ice cream for VIP ticket-holders. Audience members were given the opportunity to interact with performers (in character) and explore the depths of the post-apocalyptic characterisations within an unscripted landscape.
Whilst all the acts were extremely entertaining, particularly enjoyable performances included Jessica Mews on the hoops, Jessica Smart and Ben Kotovski-Steele on the trapeze, and Ella Norton playing a science fiction ET-esque alien, epitomising the alien character with such precision and accuracy that it made it believable, for a split-second, that aliens existed. Her slurred speech and movements, alongside her seemingly random lines of questioning, embodied a very specific extra-terrestrial vision that was entrancing to watch.
Throughout the whole performance, each performer genuinely seemed to have fun in expressing themselves whilst providing immersive, boundary-breaking entertainment. There was a rebellious authenticity within the show as a whole: as if each individual was waiting for their moment to shine in their own weird way, without wanting to out-compete the others. The chemistry between performers was palpable and uplifting.
Whilst MC and Director, Georgia Deguara, had a slightly awkward presentation style that was (mostly) fitting with the seemingly chaotic debauchery of WREKD, its novelty faded throughout the performance.
Overall, WREKD was spectacular, presenting near-impossible feats of human strength and flexibility in multiple segments. It’s one of those shows that immerses you in an entrancing, dystopian universe and leaves you disappointed when you’re forced to exit the theatre.
Make sure you check out YUCK Circus’ upcoming Fringe shows, Off Chops and Deadset when they hit stages this summer!
CALLISTA GOH
Photos by Matthew Gedling
