The postmodern theater show Fuerza Burta has amassed a sizable audience including celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Usher, who guested in a pair of New York shows. Its Chinese name Ji Du Zhen Han means exceedingly overwhelming, and it’s an apt description for the spectacle.
The work has introduced a new performance genre that touches on theater and circus arts, infused in an indoor carnival clubbing atmosphere.
It all starts in a spacious dark room with just a few beams of light shining through. As the crowd follows the guide to center, smoke leaks in from each corner. It gets heavier, attempting to fill the room before the lights finally get killed.
The 70-minute nonstop show then kicks off with a tribal atmosphere accompanied by drums that get louder and wilder with each beat. It’s important that audience members get warmed up for a show that encourages interactivity.
“Everyone will have to stand throughout the show. What we do is get everyone involved – emotionally and physically – while remaining surprised at all times,” explains Diqui James, who created the show in Buenos Aires in 2005.
Spectacles like performers jumping off from high platforms, dancing in a translucent pool above the crowd and even getting shot will have the crowd’s eyes darting back and forth. The grand finale is an epic fight between performers during which audiences are given pizza-sized boxes of shredded paper and asked to join in.
“We’re trying to go faster than your brain in showing these different environments,” Diqui says. “We’re bringing in a world where everything keeps moving on stage and all the reactions are real.”
With successful tours around the world and a years-long run off-Broadway in New York City that has drawn in over 500,000 people, Fuerza Bruta has successfully challenged conventional notions of stage performance. However, one question remains: what is this show about?
“The way we created this show was not thinking,” Diqui answers. “Frankly, we just did what we wanted instead of understanding what it meant.”
Taking cultural differences into account, Diqui admits some initial concern about bringing the show to the Mainland. However, last summer’s debut in Beijing was a hit, as was its extended run in Shanghai this summer. Now it's back in Beijing as part of an extensive Mainland tour.
// Until Oct 5, 7pm/9pm, RMB480. Beijing Worker's Gymnasium, tickets.
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