Review: Out of the Box, The Cube – ‘Captivating and luminous: Carrington reminds us that the extraordinary is never truly out of reach’

Stepping from the bright July afternoon into the dark, womb-like intimacy of The Cube, there is an immediate shift in energy.

Yesterday afternoon, the auditorium was filled with that distinct, multi-generational buzz unique to a Sunday matinee.

That expectant stillness was broken not by a grand gesture, but by the slow, magnetic unfolding of a single, neon-pink trunk.

From this ‘box’ emerges a whole new world created by Darryl J. Carrington – a performer who commands the room entirely through the quiet alchemy of non-verbal physical comedy and world-class object manipulation.

Out of the Box is a luminous piece of physical theatre that deliberately strips away the grand, high-flying bravado of traditional big-top circus. Instead, Carrington chooses to build a spectacle from the quiet, tactile fragments of domestic life.

His canvas is made of things we find in our own cupboards: a spool of string; a solitary teapot; toothbrushes; free flowing bubbles; and most importantly, childishly unfiltered giggles.

In his hands, these mundane objects undergo a striking, poetic metamorphosis. A single length of string is pulled taut across the crowd, and through masterful physical precision, Carrington instantly plunges the entire room into a cute cinematic heist movie.

The audience watch, completely spellbound, as he navigates invisible lasers and imaginary obstacles with a fluid, liquid grace. Then, a Tom and Jerry-like duo hops on stage, soon to be surrounded by bubbles. As iridescent spheres of soap and light drift over the stage, catching the soft glow of the lights, the boundary between the stage and the auditorium dissolves entirely.

Darryl J Carrington, Out of the Box – photo: Andre Pattenden

The pacing of this 90-minute performance is immaculate, building gently from quiet curiosity to a crescendo of kinetic joy.

Carrington’s juggling finds a balance between being technically flawless and flawlessly technical, but what makes it remarkable is how every catch, throw, and balance is secondary to the emotional narrative.

He uses the specific weight and texture of his props to craft vivid, hilarious, and deeply moving vignettes that transcend both age and language barriers.

In his outro, he emphasises how laughter is the most universal language in the world, while gently and hilariously reminding us through his performance that the most captivating stories require no words at all.

Within the broader landscape of contemporary clowning, audience interaction can sometimes carry a modern edge of cynicism or tension, making a volunteer the punchline of a joke. Carrington rejects this completely, operating instead on a profound philosophy of empathy and shared experience. His performance is a deliberate, beautifully constructed bridge between generations.

At the heart of his crowd work is a live, tangible demonstration to the children in the room that grown-ups are not rigid, unyielding monoliths and are entirely capable of being silly and childish, inhabiting the exact same space of unburdened wonder and creativity.

‘Ballet dads’ in Darryl J Carrington’s Out of the Box – photo: Kyle Bunby

By gently coaxing adult volunteers into his whimsical, wordless sandbox, Carrington strips away the heavy, protective armour of adulthood in real-time.

To watch a fully grown adult step onto the stage, shed their self-consciousness, and participate whole-heartedly in a beautiful piece of wordless play is a profoundly wholesome sight.

For the kids watching from the seats, it is a fascinating, comforting revelation: a rare glimpse of the adults in their lives fully playing along, proving that the magic of childhood isn’t something you outgrow, but something you keep safe inside you.

By the time the performance reaches its grand finale with an impossibly tense, beautifully absurd balancing act involving a cup and a precarious stack of toothbrushes, the entire auditorium is united in a shared, breathless roar of laughter and applause. It’s a moment of collective catharsis that feels deeply necessary.

Out of the Box is a brilliant, descriptive, and memorable triumph of independent theatre that feels perfectly at home in Bristol’s creative ecosystem.

When the doors finally opened after the performance ended, the audience stepped back out into the world carrying a degree of warmth within themselves to rival the outdoor sunshine.

Carrington does more than just entertain; he reminds us that the extraordinary is never truly out of reach: it is simply waiting to be unlocked from the ordinary boxes we live in every day, if only we remember how to look at each other and play.

For upcoming Darryl Carrington tour shows including Out of the Box and Tennish, visit darryljcarrington.com or follow @darryljcarrington.

Main photo: Alexis Dubus

Read next:

• Darryl Carrington’s award-winning non-verbal family show to feature at Circus City 2025
• Review: Julia Masli: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, The Wardrobe Theatre – ‘An intoxicating mix of clowning, comedy, hoodwinking and benign manipulation’
• Review: The Farmer and the Clown, The Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic – ‘Utterly heartwarming and relatable’