Review: ZIP ZAP CIRCUS: MOYA at Children's Theatre Company

The Children’s Theatre Company has broken their mold of presenting scripted plays and musicals to offer Zip Zap Circus their main stage to present a new type of production to their audience. Enter the mesmerizing world of MOYA.

Filled with an extraordinary blend of dance and circus acts, MOYA tells the true life story of a young man who is down on his luck and through a series chance encounters with performers of Zip Zap Circus’ troupe, begins his own journey to join their ranks.

The beautiful thing about “circus” is that it speaks a universal language. It doesn’t matter where you come from or what your life experiences are, it still can convey a common message. While it may seem easy to throw some circus acts onto a stage and delight audiences, Zip Zap Circus has taken “circus” to a new level. They have brought life and emotion into their story by providing the audience with a central character that allows us to have a shared experience with them as they journey through the show’s many acts.

As the audience is brought into the world of MOYA, we are gifted with some of the most incredible feats of human endurance and strength. From the highflying acrobatics on the trapeze and silks to the wildly impressive juggling acts to the South African Gumboots dance (which brought down the house), MOYA is filled with wonder, amazement, and delight making it a show that is definitely worth the price of admission.

Not only are the theatrics impressive but the cast, made up of a collection of International Artists, makes it impossible not have as much fun watching, as they seem to be having while performing. When it fits the narrative being told, their smiles shine as brightly as the lights above them. This is especially evident when Phelelani Ndakrokra is given the spotlight. Giving jaw dropping performances on the aerial straps and the Cyr Wheel, he invites us to not only be amazed at his physical ability but also the right to cheer and applaud when th

e audience is truly in awe.

In what is perhaps the most emotionally charged act of the night, the entire cast performs a Gumboots number that speaks to the culture that Zip Zap Circus was birthed out of. As the troupe explains in in the program:

The gumboot dance is a synchronized highly energetic, fast-paces dance form that celebrates the body as an instrument. Gumboot dancing originated in the gold mines of South Africa during Apartheid. The floors of the mines were often flooded, so miners wore gumboots, tall rain boots. In the mines, the foremen forbid the workers from talking to each other. The workers created a unique tapping code to communicate with one another by slapping their gumboots. Above ground, these taps and smacks developed into elaborate dances that they performed during their free time.

When the ensemble performs this remarkable piece, the audience is shown a slice of history and culture that is rarely seen in this part of the world and it almost feels like an out of body event to witness.

The variety the acts is what makes MOYA such a treat to behold. Even if someone in your family isn’t a “circus” person, I challenge them to not enjoy what Zip Zap Circus has brought to one of Minneapolis’ premiere theaters. It is certain to entrance audience members of all ages.

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