Last night I attended the greatest circus I’ve ever seen. Perhaps as an American I am accustomed to “big” being “better.” In the case of the Monti Circus however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In a theater of maybe 300 seats, a single ring dominates the floor. The ceiling stretches only a few dozen feet above your head and the heat from the lights bounces off the canvas walls and envelopes you in a haze of warmth. The tent next door is selling bratwurst and hot dogs and cotton candy and the smell mingles with the odor of perfume and cologne and cigarette smoke. The actors take the stage one at a time, and then all at once…a dozen or so that couldn’t be more different. A small, dark haired girl twists this way and that like a snake on hot coals and a tall, thin, buzzard-esque man rides a unicycle in ever-tighter circles. It’s amazing that they don’t collide with each other; what with the trapeze artists running the raised lip of the stage, dragging the sashes hanging from the ceiling and the wild-haired young man with the knives darting in and out behind our titular character, a straight-laced young man who just wants his Red Shoe Back.
The Monti Circus has been in business for many years, and I do mean “in business.” They have a relatively small cast, each one specializing in a unique talent, but all working together to create a beautifully cohesive, engaging and ultimately entertaining story. Besides having the pleasure of watching (and meeting!) the single greatest juggler I’ve ever seen in my life, the two other IFYE Exchangees and I also had the incredible luck of meeting the two clowns we’d enjoyed so much during the show. Perhaps our greatest find was that these performers were Americans themselves! It was so funyn becoming the five loudest people in the tent imediately upon meeting.
If you ever have cause to visit Switzerland, you simply must attend the Monti Circus. It is intimate, engaging, and lovely to behold.
The AMERICANS!