Limbo – A Sonata for Acrobatic Violinist and Acrobat

Editor note: For the purposes of this review, I’ve used a couple of official media photos from the Limbo website, as I didn’t want to get my phone out during this moving performance.

It was finally time for me to be watching something a bit more serious at the Edinburgh Fringe, and I made my way along to the C Arts venue at Lauriston Hall not quite knowing what to expect, but looking forward to something that was hopefully going to nourish my soul. And, that it did.

The vibe

Limbo – A Sonata for Acrobatic Violinist and Acrobat is a mix of violin and circus/physical theatre with quite a dark, evocative, poignant vibe. You’re left feeling quite astounded and quite captivated by some of the physical feats involved by these two talented performers.

It’s a story about refugees, but as for what the narrative is saying is really left up to interpretation by the audience, as no words are spoken throughout. Here’s the official description via the EdFringe site – which although may help explain what the show is about, I don’t really think does it justice:

This new sonata by Chloé Charody, composed for the unique acrobatic skillset of violinist Sonja Schebeck, and performed in a groundbreaking interdisciplinary duet with acrobat Josh Frazer, tells a poignant narrative through dynamic partner acrobatics, duo-unicycle and cyr-wheel. Limbo is set at Melbourne Park Hotel, 2021, when refugees were being detained indefinitely by the Australian government, some having been incarcerated for nine years. Embracing circus and classical music in one captivating world, Limbo rollercoasts through anger, frustration, fantasy and escape, exploding with one of the greatest weapons against oppression – hope.

The show itself

I found this to be a mesmerising performance by violinist Sonja Schebeck and acrobat Josh Frazer, who first appear on stage in different shades of nude and white. Their outfits may look basic, but that’s to put the main emphasis on the powerful performance itself, which I appreciated.

Schebeck plays violin throughout, never missing a beat, all the while her small frame is pushed around and manipulated by Frazer’s character. Sometimes, this is slightly difficult to watch, as the audience sits in shock, unable to look away.

At one point, he puts his hand over her face, fingers in her mouth and lifts her up solely by the head; another time he runs and jumps at her, pushing her to the floor with his feet – only when she lands does she stop playing briefly.

At another point, a Cyr wheel is introduced, and later a unicycle. I quickly stop becoming concerned about the Cyr wheel spinning by itself in terms of it hitting the audience, and start becoming concerned for Schebeck – luckily Frazer intervenes at the last moment.

The performance is broken up into seven parts, each of them reflecting a different emotional stage of imprisonment: (1) ‘Limbo’ Violin Caprice, (2) Lament for a Life Lost in Limbo, (3) Dance of the Clowns, (4) Song for the Moon, (5) Lunacy, (6) Soliloquy, and (7) The Lost World.

The emotions portrayed range from anger and frustration, to fantasy, hysteria and resignation, and there’s a lot of feeling that comes through to the audience in this performance with no words.

Overall

I watched this entire performance feeling captivated, stunned and at times a little nervous, as I watched Schebeck’s character being pushed around by Frazer. The two performers work complement each other so incredibly well, making this poignant, thought-provoking piece an absolute delight to watch.

This is a show I came out of feeling a bit like ‘what just hit me?’ and something I immediately wanted to tell people about. It’s only on for a couple of more days, so I really REALLY recommend going.