feeling listless

Life I saw a man have a truck driven over him on purpose tonight. Luckily I was at The Moscow State Circus and he was the strong man and a strong man. I would like to tell you his name but in the din of the music and the screaming of the children I didn't quite catch it even though it was read out five times. It was a deeply impressive sight as the tires heaved up the ramp and up and over, the unbearable strain marking the man's face. I'm sure there are all kinds of techniques in play to do with the spreading of weight around the body and the conservation of energy but eventually it's just him and the undercarriage.

The show is littered with these moments as human interacts with apparatus in a physical struggle. Like the rest of the world, circuses have become more complicated, extending the abilities of the performers. The live wire act for example becomes a matter of angles and height - so we can see the man walk in a straight line, but how about on a rope set at 45 degrees? Or sixty degrees? Or on a unicycle? And if you're going to juggle why not do it while standing on someone else's shoulders balances on a board and Diablo using five balls?

The seats were wooden hard and the air filled with the smell of sawdust and candyfloss. The tent was warmer than I was expecting. For some reason the audience reaction seemed inadequate. Some of the human achievements on display were mind boggling and all we could do was clap or be silent in the right places. Something new I noticed here was the muted gasp, which greets the moment when the performer makes a 'mistake' which we cynically think has been worked into the act to add tension. There was also lots of video-messaging and mobile phone chattering in evidence during the show which also seemed a tad pointless. What did you people actually buy your ticket for? And after the grand finale as the performers came out to do their lap of honour, people started to leave, rushing for their cars as though they needed to get somewhere really quickly. People can very rude.