Review: WERK IT

Productivity goes pop in Circus Trick Tease's latest triumph

★★★★
dance review (adelaide) | Read in About 2 minutes
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WERK IT
Published 23 Feb 2020

Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. That’s Confucius, supposedly, though many would attest it’s also probably bullshit. Turning anything into work usually saps the fun out of it, no matter how much you love it. Unless, of course, you’re with Circus Trick Tease, who have managed to turn the whole idea of work into a goddamn riot.

From 80s workout videos, to the cigarette addictions of high-powered office workers, to a religious take on tradies, WERK IT parodies work culture with affectionate reverence. And that’s to say nothing of the top-tier circus skills being employed to live out these parodies, nor the genuine comedic talent that the five-strong cast have in spades. Few circus shows are this funny; WERK IT could go toe-to-toe with some of the best comedy shows at the Fringe, without – well, technically, with – breaking a sweat.

And we have Malia Walsh to thank. The mastermind behind Circus Trick Tease, and therefore the company’s growing rap sheet of festival-smashing shows (Can’t Face, Children Are Stinky, Brass Monkeys), Walsh has assembled a crew of new and familiar bodies for this latest lycra-clad spectacular.

Without spoiling the feats here, WERK IT is packed with high-energy stunts, many of which are twists on old favourites, playing to the skillsets of Walsh and the team. And all backed by a party-starting soundtrack. Energetic, hilarious, and smartly put together; what a way to make a living.