London Wonderground on the city’s South Bank is a cavern of spicy entertainment and smells of the long awaited summer. With a huge programme of comedy, cabaret, dance, theatre and circus, the Udderbelly Festival is hugely popular and always adorned with Londoners enjoying the gradually turning summer evenings.
Part of the eclectic line up is the performance of Scotch and Soda, with an extensive run in the London Wonderground Speigeltent. Made up of talented Australian performers from across the pond, the show is full of daring acrobatics, a sumptuous cocktail of jazz music and characters who strut across the stage be it in clogs, waistcoats or entirely naked. In the heady atmosphere of the Spiegeltent, the performances of the talents of Scotch and Soda are highlighted by the olde worlde circus acts, and the mirrored ringside.
The Scotch and Soda cast is small and personable – as an audience member you feel welcomed and included, rather than peering over the sidelines as with other similar performances. Scotch and Soda could perhaps be referred to as an edgy Cirque du Soleil; it is full of daring and cheeky charm but takes on a more gritty persona. Every element – from the props to the costumes to the tarnished champagne bottles used for a balancing act – was considered and played its part too.
Acrobatics, strength and circus skills naturally took up a large part of the 80 minute performance. With each cast member taking on a character from the history of Australian circus it added much to their skills as the audience could plot their journeys amongst each other. Double trapeze work was of particular note, as was the balancing act upon a tower of boxes. Charming lovebirds provided simple but effective comic relief from the daring of the bicycle riding, and the varying jazz music was the perfect musical backdrop for this fun but gripping spectacle.