Live Tarot reading meets mesmeric contemporary circus as The Feathers of Daedalus come to VAULT Festival with a spell-binding reworking of their Edinburgh Fringe hit, Tarot. Taking audiences on a thrilling and unpredictable adventure guided by fate, the visual imagery and characters of the cards are brought to life through skilled acrobatic and musical improvisation.
Audience members are invited onstage for Tarot readings which guide the evening’s events in this enticing experiential piece. From the turn of the first card, no two shows are ever the same. Jaw-dropping physicality and a bewitchingly live soul-funk soundtrack intertwines with the spectacle of divination, conjuring a fantastical gothic night at the circus.
The Feathers have gathered a stellar multidisciplinary troupe to tantalise and delve into the unknown. Enchanting new compere drag artist Ruby Wednesday will be joined by mesmerising hand balancer Imogen Huzel, gender-bending acrobatic double act Josh Frazer and Tessa Blackman, and daring aerialist Lauren Jamieson. Challenged by this ambitiously complex production, the performers use their eclectic skills to create a unique show every night, embodying the Tarot. Will the fool become the empress, or the king lose his crown? Will the lovers be trapped in the caverns of the moon or the stars shine down on the hapless hanged man?
This highly charged circus display is underscored by an incredible soundtrack from the band, Yoshi, led by director of the experimental Svalbard company, Ben Smith. The soul-funk quartet add another layer to the evening’s proceedings with their playful and atmospheric melodies.
Director Joanna Vymeris comments, While receiving my first ever Tarot card reading in New Orleans one year ago, I couldn’t help but see the illustrations leap out of the cards, their theatricality and possibility for circus interpretation evident. There is a theatricality that is inherent to the Tarot. It captures every aspect of life and humanity and does so in extremes. We are taking our show to another level this time with the addition of Ruby, not only using the Major Arcana as we did previously, but using the entire deck of 78 cards, challenging the cast and their abilities for improvisation and collaboration yet further.
Tarot is at VAULT Festival 28th January to 1st February 2020.
