Theatre / Aino Vienna
Review: Yablochkov Candle, Circomedia
What is a Yablochkov candle? I looked up the name after the show, if I’m honest. I only mention this because the title (unless you know this fact) gives very little away about the performance.
Yablochkov candles were used as street and theatre illumination during the Paris Exhibition of 1878, on the Avenue de l’Opéra. They consisted of two carbon bricks enclosed in globes of enamelled glass. There are some great illustrations online of Victorians looking at them in awe.
So, what does this have to do with Ilona Jäntti & Aino Venna’s sultry cabaret performance? Well, the latter is all about light and darkness.
is needed now More than ever
Performed on the marvellously imagined Circomedia stage, Yablochkov Candle draws us into early 1930s Paris, and welcomes us into what feels like a smoky, underground bar. The scene is set with simple black table cloths, oversized orb lightbulbs and low lighting that allows you to see just the silhouette of the audience around you, quietly sipping on red wine, ready for the show.
We settle in, safe in the shadows, and the music starts. A guitarist and a double bass player appear from the gloom, suited, sequinned and feathered, to perform their melancholy tune. As singer-songwriter Aino Venna begins her lament, she is illuminated softly by Yablochkov candles. The band perform on, strangely lost in the dim gloom, until the candles come to life with undulating light, adorned by aerial performer Ilona Jäntti, who slides down the cables that suspend the giant bulbs delicately and quietly.
The whole performance uses lighting beautifully and subtly – both to illuminate the performers and as props on which to gracefully climb.
For the rest of the performance, we hear some poetic jazz and blues (overwhelmingly Venna’s own creations) played quietly and understatedly, while watching Ilona glide inventively around the pillars of St Paul’s Church on the corde lisse (aerial ropes – does sound better in French though, non?).
The performance is a quiet contemplation. It feels like you’re there in secret, hiding in the dark. All in all, the performers are great, though a little more audience interaction from the leading lady (even a tongue-in-cheek nod and a wink – it is cabaret after all) would make a very enjoyable performance into a really immersive one.
If you’re looking for something a little different this weekend, or want a quiet place to hide with your loved one, Yablochkov Candle is a great evening. Lose yourself in the dim light of those soft candles, sink back, and let the velvet sound and elegant aerial dance float over you.
Yablochkov Candle continues until Saturday, October 21 as part of Circus City 2017. For more info, visit www.bristolcircuscity.com/events
Pic: Kimmo Metsaranta
Read more: Preview: A Strange New Space, Circomedia
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