★★★
Have you ever wanted to know what kind of personality Mars has? Whether Jupiter is a basic bitch or where Neptune falls on the Myers-Briggs Scale? Luckily Cameron Sinclair Harris has you covered. Cameron’s exuberant clowning is playful, inventive and keeps a pace that you are excited for what comes next.
The framing of the show allows Cameron to bring to life the planets as characters; Venus is interpreted with lady-razored finger-gloves, Saturn as an in intense club-kid – each with their own vignette. Amongst the planets Cameron themselves traveling in a spaceship, a gentle metaphor for being an outsider, adrift from our own planets norms and customs.
Parts of the show are uneven, and Harris seems to undo some of the majestic tableaux with audience asides that can feel uncomfortable. Perhaps this is intentional, but it can detract from the excellent skill and detail of her characterisation.
I think Cameron has definitely plugged into some element of clowning which connects to people on a deep level. In the audience when I attended, those that got it, loved it, and I mean seriously loving it. Those who wouldn’t buy into their poetic silliness looked abandoned.
As for me, I love a bit of clowning, and I especially like commitment to the bit, you couldn’t say Cameron phoned in one second of their performance; it’s a valuable asset to have as a clown, no matter what, you’re going to bring the noise, which they did and then some!
Cameron Sinclair Harris: PLANETS!!! is on at Front Room at Assembly Rooms until August 24th
