Performers: The Freestyle Orchestra
Venue: Central at Assembly Roxy
Date and time: Wednesday 12th August, 6:15pm
Ticket price: £18.00
Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5
Reviewer: Sarah Turnbull
It felt strangely fitting that, as a solar eclipse traced a shadow across the sky, I found myself watching a show about a phoenix. From a single ember on a darkened stage, we witnessed the birth of a firebird, its growth through joy and sorrow, its clash with an adversary, its fall, and finally its hopeful rebirth. Big myth, big feelings, and somehow they pull it off with flair.
The setting helps. Staged in a former 18th-century church, the whole thing begins in near-darkness and a hush of anticipation. Smoke curls, spotlights slice the air, and heavy black curtains swallow any stray light so that every beam, every glow, pops with intent. When the first flare of “sunrise” hits, you feel it.
And then there’s the cast. Honestly, it borders on unfair how much talent this ensemble has. They don’t just play beautifully; they play professionally – tight, musical, expressive – and at the same time, they climb, flip, drop and balance like seasoned circus artists. Instruments in hand, they scale aerial ropes and silks, hang in splits, then slide into those heart-stopping, controlled drops that make the entire room gasp. I’ll repeat that so it really sinks in: the violinist is literally thrown from one side of the stage to the other while continuing to play the violin.
More than once, the audience collectively held its breath; in the tensest moments, all you could hear was that sharp hiss of air being drawn through teeth.
The phoenix’s birth arrives with hopeful strings and the soft raising of a new dawn. Adolescence brings a quicker tempo and bright lights, with a flurry of cartwheels, splits and skyward climbs. Then a villain appears – an elegant, unsettling counterpoint with a hint of black swan menace – propelling the music into uneasy, urgent rhythms and wrenching us into shadow. The phoenix loses, and a sombre, almost funeral pall darkens over. But as the myth demands, the sun lifts again, the score blooms, warmth returns to the palette and, with it, the rebirth of our phoenix.
Threaded through it all is live fire – proper, daring, mesmerising fire. Flames whip and wheel so close you can feel the heat on your cheeks. It’s not tacked-on spectacle; it’s woven into the storytelling, upping the stakes in exactly the right moments.
And just when you don’t think it can get any more amazing, the harpist takes to the air – slowly turning, playing upside down. It’s the sort of image that makes your jaw drop and your brain quietly ask, “How is this even possible?”
Overall, this is a beautiful and wildly impressive show. It’s not just that they can do everything – it’s that they do it all well: classical music that’s genuinely engaging, aerial work that’s crisp and fearless, and firecraft that’s brave and hypnotic. You leave uplifted, the phoenix’s rebirth still glowing in you.
★★★★★
