Preview: Under the Dark Moon, Bristol Old Vic

Bristol’s inimitable masters of walkabout wizardry The Invisible Circus reprise their brilliant circus-theatre journey into the heart of darkness, telling their own fairy tales across a psychologically scorched dreamscape haunted by old film and live musical score.

The Invisibles first unveiled Under the Dark Moon a couple of years back, in the Big Top at the temporary performance space Creative Common. The Bristol Old Vic stage must pose some rather different staging challenges and opportunities, though?

“Funnily enough it was actually a lot more challenging putting the show up in a Big Top,” reveals the Invisible’s long-time master of ceremonies Doug Francisco. “The show fits a theatre stage well – a theatre is made for flying things in and out, so it seemed if anything a bit more straightforward adapting it to fit the Old Vic.”

Some might imagine the Invisibles to be at their very best when doing promenade spectacles and interacting directly with strolling audiences – in shows like, for example, the unforgettable Carny Ville presented at their home, The Island in central Bristol, six years ago. Does this show have the same visceral thrill as the company’s feted promenade pieces?

“I feel we have really concentrated a lot of our creative energy and know-how into this show, and that it’s actually more intense and hard-hitting having these stories as well as the acts in a stage setting,” Doug reflects. “We love working in promenade and interactive environments, but it has been great condensing all that experience into a really focused stage production and being able to work on the details that being in a theatre allows.”

Under the Dark Moon is billed as “a visually rich allegory of our crusade through the clutter of modern times”. In fact, as Doug explains, the performers all composed their own fairy tales for the pieces, drawing on their own personal struggles. “In reality, they are the struggles we all face in this modern age, where everything is so accessible yet so disposable at the same time, where everything is about the individual and where the breakdown of communities leaves people isolated and alone with their burdens, struggles and sorrows.”

Indeed Under the Dark Moon contains, says Doug, a set of tales to which everyone will relate: personal struggles, the battle against insecurities and uncertainty and most importantly the conquering of these limitations and challenges. “I hope audiences will walk away feeling more compassionate and supportive towards others, more easygoing and understanding of themselves – and feeling, ultimately, that no matter how dark times may get, there is hope.”

Bristol has become something of a mecca for circus theatre, with the Invisibles electing to give up their peripatetic existence and set up home here over a decade ago, and other organisations such as Circomedia, Cirque Bijou and the Desperate Men contributing to a hugely vibrant and world-renowned circus and street theatre scene. Is there something in the Bristol mindset that makes circus thrive here, or is it more to do with its particular audience makeup or choice of venues?

“It’s a mix of all of those things,” Doug believes. “Circomedia has also been a huge pull and many of the performers it attracts to study here stay on afterwards.  We chose to stay here as we found it to be a very open, can-do kind of place, with no airs and graces.

“There wasn’t a lot of circus or alternative entertainment on show when we landed ten years ago. The support that Ruth Essex and Bristol City Council’s arts department gave to our plans, to take over old buildings for performance space, was crucial in making it such a hub. That, alongside the recession, helped amplify what was already a strong underground creative scene here.”

Under the Dark Moon is at Bristol Old Vic from Friday, April 10 to Saturday, April 18. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/underthedarkmoon.html