Determined not to let one bad circus experience discourage us, we went to see Cirkus Cirkör today, at the Subtopia festival. Cirkör is a Swedish contemporary circus company (which means no clowns and no animals, and about as much theatre as circus).

The title of the show was “Wear it like a crown”, after a song with the same title by Rebekka Karijord, who’s written the music for this show. It was a small and almost intimate performance, with just 5 people on the scene (the 6th artist was absent due to an earlier accident), a simple set, melancholy music and muted lighting. There was juggling (of everything from ping-pong balls to chainsaws and chairs), acrobatics, knife-throwing and trapeze, and more. It is apparently possible to make a circus show out of shoes, plastic bags and plungers.

This is not a children’s show in any way, but it was weird and whimsical enough, and not too loud or scary, so Ingrid enjoyed it. At over two hours (including the interval) it was a bit too long for her, but not so that we’d need to leave early.

I’ve looked for photos of the show but found none that made it justice. There is a trailer but unfortunately it shows nothing of the show itself.

A nice performance, fun, unpredictable, and personal – well worth seeing.