In a collaboration with A Girl in the Sky Productions and Thin Edge New Music Collective, Balance on the Edge presents Anthropic Traces, a mesmerizing, thought-provoking piece of art like you’ve never seen before. Combining elements of circus, commedia dell’arte, live music, and more Anthropic Traces is unlike any production I’ve ever witnessed. It was a feast for the senses and you simply MUST see it for yourself.

            Anthropic Traces, as the name implies, looks at humanity’s interactions both with itself and the world around us. The first portion of the show looks at how humans interact; the bustling airport being a perfect setting for mass human interaction. But we witness the good and the bad of how people treat one another; from couples meeting up to another couple being detained (seemingly indefinitely). I really enjoyed the use of masks for these vignettes as the masks allow for so much play and more over-the-top funny behaviours. Amy Hull’s speech in the next section about her experiences as an indigenous artist was not only very moving, but a necessary story for audiences to hear. Combined with her beautiful artistry on the aerial drum, it was a performance I’ll not soon forget. In the following portion the two performers (a juggler and contortionist) essentially had an entire argument and made up again without saying a word; it was marvellous. Watching them build up and then take down walls between each other was very emotional, especially after the difficulties we’ve all faced over the past two years. Their athleticism was extraordinary and caused many a gasp from the audience.

            After the intermission the focus shifts more to how humans interact with nature. We see a water nymph who is disturbed by a woman swimming nearby. We also witness sea-creature trapped in plastic trying to escape. It is a stark reminder that we not only have a huge effect on other humans, but on the world around us (particularly our water supply). The projection onto the curtain was beautiful, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the underwater experience. Each performer has their own expertise and gets their time to shine throughout the production which is wonderful; we were all in awe over the feats these amazing humans can accomplish.

            Anthropic Traces is a beautiful, mind-bending spectacle that you truly have to see to believe. Playing at Crow’s Theatre until July 31^st, you need to grab your tickets ASAP! For more information and for tickets visit: Balancing on the Edge: Anthropic Traces- Crow’s Theatre (crowstheatre.com)