Is that a chainsaw up in the air? And what’s that man doing atop a towering wobbling stack of chairs? It’s going to be a whirl of daredevil activities this weekend (December 3 and 4) at Phoenix MarketCity. The International Superstars of Street Theatre features five street performers from across the globe. Say hello to Dynamike, Maple Staplegun, The TNT, Dado and Katay Santos, who are here from Vancouver, Sydney, Barcelona, Montreal and Caracas, respectively.
Dynamike juggles chainsaws, rides a three-metre unicycle to keep his viewers entertained. Watching Kiki, the TNT man, is like watching a cartoon come alive as he performs his clown act. The clowning around continues with Dado and his signature acts titled The Bug, Batman, The Bagpipe Hat and the Balloon Swallow. Meanwhile, Maple Staplegun got bored of her office and made it to the streets to do what she loves best — showing off her skills with hula hoops. Also watch as she gets rescued by firemen, just in the nick of time in her finale act. And finally Katay, the winner of the Venezuelan Circus Convention 2007, shows off his balancing prowess, as he stacks chairs and perches on them gracefully and then twirls a giant vase.
The first sequence will take place on Saturday at noon, followed by performances at regular intervals. Each artiste will perform individually and the act will last for a duration of 15-20 minutes, and will take place at the atrium at the basement. In the evenings, the show will be on at the open-air theatre. “We want to give an international street theatre experience to our consumers. This event is free and open to all,” says Murugan Rajan, Center Director, Phoenix MarketCity, Chennai. “We were following a lot of activities happening in international malls, and these performers had recently put up a show in the Mall of Emirates. We wanted to showcase a blend of stunt and comedy, and that’s exactly what these performers do,” he adds. Given the numerous interested phone calls the help desk is receiving, the mall is expecting a footfall of 85,000 per day.
