Vaudeville 2.0: Pfffffff

BIG ACTION IN THE LITTLE TOP: Akoreacro’s Pfffffff

In a tiny “big top” — at its deepest, the tent has only nine rows — French troupe Akoreacro made the North American debut of its new show Pfffffff on TOHU’s lawn, while inside TOHU, at the same time, curtains opened on Cirque Éloize’s iD.

On other continents, Akoreacro has already played Pfffffff hundreds of times. It shows. Every movement is exact; heavy set pieces are tipped over to land just beyond someone else’s toes.

What sets the show apart, though, is how well music is integrated into the spectacle. These days, circus throws a wide net. Three rings and elephants — sure, that’s circus. But so is a moody modern dance show with a trapeze. More and more, shows billed as circus incorporate dance, theatre, art, film — you name it. Pfffffff takes this trend so far that it’s safe to say that it’s equal parts music and circus.

The musicians are always onstage, and they’re part of the action. Although the cast roughly divides into four acrobats and four musicians, performers actually cross these lines. The same performer will backflip one moment and beatbox the next. In a form of literal musical chairs, many performers play several instruments.

The music itself careens from tango to Chick Corea-y jazz piano and from klezmer to hip-hop beats, then blends all these genres together. And although there’s a lot of voltige (hand-to-hand balancing and somersaulting) in particular, the show also presents a mix of circus disciplines: there’s Washington trapeze, contortion, clowning, juggling, hand balancing and a little cyr wheel.

Pfffffff is loosely inspired by an Argentinean fairy tale about a cat who promises a seagull to take care of her egg and teach the chick to fly when it is born — the sole female performer is the chick — but don’t keep that story in mind as you watch. This cozy and casual show is best enjoyed as a string of vaudeville merriments. The most identifiable character in the show isn’t a seagull or a cat: it’s Charlie Chaplin, thrown around the stage throughout in the form of cane and bowler hat.

Like the old movie halls that used to hire piano players to accompany silent films, this little tent show has learned that slapstick and music make good companions. ■

Pfffffff plays in a tent at TOHU (2345 Jarry E.) until October 6.