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Parachutists, Barbican (Pit), London

By Sarah Hemming
Published: October 24 2010 19:35 | Last updated: October 24 2010 19:35

“It’s disgusting!” piped up a small voice near me as an object poked through a hole in the large box that forms the
set of Parachutists. The object in question was a naked human foot – interesting that it provoked such an outraged
response and proof that, from the outset, this charming, modest little show from Croatia engages the attention of
its target audience (children aged between three and eight).

The foot has company: before we see the two performers from Theatre Mala Scena we meet an array of objects
as they first protrude from holes and cracks in the set and then escape – some to fly a little while before they hit
the ground (balloons), others to waft gracefully earthward (feathers, pieces of silk), others plummet (socks, an
apple). So the show quietly establishes the territory it intends to explore: the force of gravity.

The mood is not so much physics lesson as playground, however. Kristina Bajza Marcinko and Tomislav
Krstanovic play hide and seek, clamber over the set as if it were a climbing frame and vie for attention. They
demonstrate force and direction when Marcinko draws an arrow on Krstanovic’s forehead and then shoves him in
the direction it is pointing, so that he spins on the spot. They match physical ups and downs with emotional peaks
and troughs and use circus skills wryly, standing on their heads, flipping themselves over and, at one point,
suspending themselves from the top of the frame so that they can walk on air.

We could do with a few more acrobatic tricks – the children in the audience were most excited when the
performers used their skills to project themselves at curious angles from their climbing frame, dangled precariously
or appeared to soar weightlessly. And this is not as ambitious and magical a children’s show as those produced by
Fevered Sleep at their best. But it is directed (by Ivica Simic) and performed with playful humour and holds its
audience’s attention throughout, particularly delighting everyone when Krstanovic performs an impressive athletic
feat but is then abandoned by his playmate – literally left hanging around. ( ) www.barbican.org.uk

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