Sabotage review: Joyously chaotic festival opener has all the fun of the circus

Irish Times

15-07-2025

Sabotage
Galway International Arts Festival, Nimmo's pier, Claddagh Quay
★★★★☆
The central, delightful contradiction in NoFit State's show is that the aesthetic is raggle-taggle, harum-scarum, scatty, chaotic, anarchic travelling circus, but the reality is that this is a very highly-skilled troupe, performing with precision and perfect timing. And with a lot of heart and fun to boot.
The Cardiff-based company of international performers arrive in town with their tent seating 700 in the round, plus snack-bar tent and living quarters, so there's a real sense of circus about proceedings as audiences rock up. This is the opening spectacular for the city's arts festival and it sets a joyous, awe-inspiring tone, triumphing over the temporary November-like conditions outside.
Action starts well before showtime, as assorted players gather their wits and their bits about them and engage the audience. The mayor's gold chain in the audience seems like a magnet for several performers, who involve him in 'help' or card tricks. A soldier with a wilting bunch of flowers and a plaintive air waiting for his amour, a tall muscular man with false eyebrows, a frock and lots of charm, a woman with a basket of wigs – all are getting into gear, setting the mood for stage business and busyness.
The shambolic vibe is deceptive; this is far from chaotic. It is technically adept in both stagecraft and performance skills.
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Thus it bursts forth, starting with a virtuoso spin by a little person in shades, cool and sexy, all hip swivels and acrobatics using small crutches.
Aerial is almost ubiquitous these days, but this is a wow: suspended by long hair, or enfolded in giant skirts composed of multiple smaller ones, or draped languorously over a trapeze, using arms only for action. There is rarely only one thing going on: as well as aerial, your eye is drawn to multiple actions or tableaux simultaneously below.
It's hard to keep track, but there are perhaps 13 or 14 performers onstage plus about six musicians in the excellent band; the live original music is intrinsic, mixing rock, folk, Celtic and poppy sounds. They're all multitasking, moving from the heavens to playing in the band, to shimmying up and down towers of the impressive rig, swarming the ground prone on skateboards, performing on the huge circle truss as it moves down from the tent roof or bombing through the action on roller-skates.
There is no let-up. All the skills of new circus are on display, with various twists. Tightrope dancing, or more like flopping-bouncing about on the rope; fine hoopwork; juggling from a pit in the ground. Twirling, grace, and anarchic, silly pratfalls.
There are calmer interludes too. A trio of widows in black holding bunches of flowers enter with dignity, explode in a moment of wild dancing, then move on. The big guy and the little guy traverse the stage in long black dresses and have a moment of interdependent balance – on giant platform shoes.
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As Galway's arts festival opens, the city's long-expected cultural space inches slowly towards planning this year
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NoFit State was founded in 1986, 'a politically charged time, in a recession, and as a creative reaction to the world around them'. The title Sabotage seems a loose concept, tying together visuals evoking war, conflict, exclusion, protest, riots. An illuminated ambulance beetles about. An oblong shape morphs, via changing projections, from army tank to bus to shipping container. It's imagistic rather than narrative.
While thematically it's vaguely dark and evocative of our disturbing world, there's also a whole lot of humour and jollity, a sense of community and connection, and the show is exhilarating, breathtaking, infectious and hugely entertaining, rather than ponderous. A gorgeous, chaotic, playful, joyous, accomplished start to a festive fortnight.
Until July 27th at 8pm plus several matinees. Giaf.ie