fringe: knock off

three high acrobatics' knock off - apologies to ty, there are no promo pictures featuring him
A blonde, a brunette and the new guy walk onto a building site and create a circus/home renovation show.

It sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke, but what it is is Knock Off, a really funny and at times breathtaking acrobatic show from Three High Acrobatics.

I wanted to see Knock Off last year, but I just never found the time, so when I saw it was back on this year, I knew I had to go and see it...

Last year it was a blonde, a brunette and a Japanese guy, but this time around the blonde (Sam) and the brunette (Chris) are still there but now they have a new third member, the apprentice (Ty).

And I don't know if it was because they were here last year, or because it was a Wednesday or what, but there were only about a dozen people in the audience, which is disappointing, because it's a really good show.

It also doesn't hurt that they're three good looking, athletic guys (well, Ty's more cute like a happy puppy really, but the boy is athletic).

They manage to mix humour in with the circus acts, so that sometimes you don't always realise how difficult some of their tricks are because you're laughing.

There's also great use of the props of the "building site"... hammers, chairs, planks of wood and there's an amazing routine that Chris does with a two headed broom that was just mesmerising.

Actually watching Chris do anything is pretty worthwhile, as he is without a doubt the pretty one.

He's also the biggest and the base for the majority of the tricks, and as I've said in previous reviews of circus shows, sometimes the guys that provide the base for the tricks don't get as much recognition as they maybe should get, but all three performers got their own chance to shine.

When he wasn't taking the piss out of Jamie Durie, Sam performs a really gorgeous aerial routine that he made look much, much easier than it really was.

Ty is a brilliant, brilliant gymnast... he was flipping and turning and being flipped and thrown around by the other two guys in ways that just made me go "wow".

And what's not to love about a blonde and a brunette doing a Brokeback inspired acrobatic routine with their tongues firmly in their cheeks.

The music they use is also really great... from Hammertime to Bye Bye Bye to Wild Wild West to a live version of "I'm A Bloke" with ukulele, it all perfectly complimented the routines.

Sure, there were a few times when they dropped props, but you're always going to get that in live circus shows and it didn't affect my enjoyment of the show at all.

They put on a really good show though... now all they need is a bigger audience.

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