Blending clowning, prop comedy and kinetic sculpture with the science and fantasy of flight, Air Play is a unique spectacle from New York-based circus duo Acrobuffos. Former ballerina Christina Gelsone and erstwhile juggler Seth Bloom are a married couple who’ve performed their wondrous show all over the world, with flying umbrellas, swirling snow, and fabrics soaring high over the crowd.

‘When we started, we knew we wanted to make ordinary objects do extraordinary things and capitalise on all of our experience in silent comedy, juggling, dance and street performing,’ Gelsone explains. Working with ‘air sculptor’ artist Daniel Wurtzel, they spent five years making it ‘look so simple, but we are accomplishing difficult feats of manipulation . . . there are sculptures in Air Play that can be seen nowhere else, and they take the audience’s breath away.’

_{Picture: Florence Montmare}

Acrobuffos spend weeks on a single prop, experimenting endlessly with possibilities. They went through ‘two dozen kinds of umbrellas to find the best flyers and made four different acts with umbrellas until we found one we liked,’ says Gelsone. Only after assembling all their set-pieces together, did they ‘weave through an emotional storyline and skilful comedy’, as they sought to evoke ‘an incredibly rich poem of childhood . . . giant fabrics swirl into whale shapes and the entire stage becomes a snow globe. And I get stuck inside a balloon.’

Despite the dialogue-free show’s international appeal and the rigours of their creative process, Bloom reckons each show is different. ‘We often compare making audiences laugh to surfing,’ he reflects. ‘Difficult, always with the potential for failure, but what a thrill when you catch the wave just right. So we’re travelling the world, searching for the perfect wave, gliding on the power of laughter crescendoing all around us. Australia is one of our favourite places to work, because both the cheeky humour and the beautiful moments are appreciated.’

Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival Drive, 15–19 March, times vary.