DAREDEVILS PUT ON A SCORCHER

Oh, could you just wait a minute, please - I have to wipe off some water drops and blink away the image of searing flames that seem to be permanently emblazoned on my eyeballs. There, that's better. I'll just draw on some eyebrows, brush this silver tinsel and popcorn out of my hair and get going.

In case you're wondering, I spent Tuesday night alternately laughing and cowering in fear at the gasoline-powered buffoonery of the Daredevil Opera Company's production of Drakonsbreath. The Scotland-based troupe smoked the Sanderson Centre and drew a standing ovation from a crowd of 400 for its incredible antics.

Jonah Logan, creator of this pyrotechnic circus spectacular, opened the show as a Chaplinesque character stumbling through the audience. Plopping on laps, throwing popcorn about and squirting the unwary with water, he had the crowd chuckling before the stage curtain opened.

Out stalked Colt Sandberg as Mephisto, the evil carnival henchman whose capture of the Drakonsbreath - the flaming spirit of a dragon - turns his black leather britches into a pair of hot pants - literally. Caging the Drakonsbreath sparks a conflict pitting black-clad baddies against two hapless carnival cleaners, played with agility and charm by Logan and Amy Gordon.

Winsome and long-legged, with an ever-so-expressive face, Gordon reminded me just a little bit of the beloved janitor character Carol Burnett brought to life on TV years ago. I don't think Burnett ever played the ukulele while rollerskating, though.

Gordon's cohort, meanwhile, delighted the crowd with a series of ever-sillier stunts - including somersaulting into the audience and dragging a good-humored spectator on stage.

Their creative clownery alternated with the searing menace of Mephisto and his bald, cackling sidekick, played with vicious glee by Tom Comet. Juggling a running chainsaw, tossing blowtorches and peddling a 12- foot unicycle, the extreme stuntman had me - quivering in a front-row seat, inches from the flames - wondering if I'd live to see my kids the next day.

Enhancing the show, which finished with an eye-dazzling fireworks extravaganza, were unique music and sound effects perfromed live by Simcoe's Paul Weir and the crimson-haired Sxip Shirey. Particularly evocative were the Drakonsbreath's gurgles and chirrs and Mephisto's creepy bass vocalizations.

Overall, this was a great show, barring some minor techincal errors. With their pratfalls and pyrote hnics, these Daredevils demonstrated wit, innovation and bravery. This Sunday, they'll take their derring-do to Mississauga's Living Arts Centre, moving to the Kennedy Center in Washington a little later. Further bookings should follow.

Review by Elizabeth Yates

The Brantford Expositor, Thursday, November 15, 2001

"Drakonsbreath: a series of passages of beauty, inventiveness, alent, craftsmanship, humor, and even genius-"

"Jonah Logan and Amy Gordon are a remarkable comedy team."

"Besides her credentials as a comedienne, Amy can belt out "In the Good Old Summertime" or "Ukulele Lady" while accompanying herself on the ukulele in fine fettle. Can she resist hawking a most unladylike manner to clear her throat before she sings? Not if she can get a laugh."

"The cries of "I don't like clowns!" soon turn to "He's funny!"

"Tom Comet ... is capable of running off stage with his arms flaming, ... legs in flames, juggling lit propane canisters and riding a high giraffe unicycle that has the scatological apperance of being methane powered."

"The closing scene of the show is spectacular beyond belief and nearly beyond description. I have never before seen pyrotechnics used to tell a story this way."

From Spectacle: Quarterly Journal of Circus Arts, Winter 2002

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