Yes Person
D: Based On Kimberly
(Rating: four stars out of five)
From the outset, Yes Person foreshadows its success with a sing-along to The Weather Girls classic hit, ‘It’s Raining Men’, leaving the two performers onstage gasping for breath and grinning from ear to ear. Based On Kimberly is a circus company created by Imogen Huzel and Inka Pehkonen, whom we learn are two ex-gymnasts turned full-time circus idiots, now based in Berlin. Their tumbling and handstand skills are quickly whipped out during a series of skits exploring the idea of ‘kill your darlings’, an approach to creativity that removes your most beloved ideas for the sake of the bigger picture. In Yes Person, Huzel and Pehkonen give these ideas their own show and, most importantly, share them with us. As part of the Berlin Circus Festival programme, Yes Person is an endearing slice of contemporary circus that fuses clowning, acrobatics, physical stamina and friendship. One stand-out darling was a comedy sketch about hands that included the longest walking-handstands I’ve ever seen. While wearing a combination of yellow and green Adidas tracksuits, the duo rap their way through a pop song, combining physicality with poetic poise. Elsewhere, the energy drops at points, partly due to a couple of the ideas exceeding their laugh-out-loud time span, and perhaps a stage that feels slightly too large for the work. Nevertheless, Huzel and Pehkonen are clearly two exceptional performers, with the experience and artistic foresight to create contemporary circus that magnificently fuses relatability and spectacle.
- Berlin Circus Festival, details
