'Fuerza Bruta: AVEN' review — non-stop, eye-popping action for 70 minutes

Read our review of Argentinian troupe Fuerza Bruta's latest show AVEN, now in performances at Roundhouse until 31 August.

The name of Argentinian troupe Fuerza Bruta is certainly apt. The English translation is ‘brute force’ and after witnessing 70 minutes of non-stop, eye-popping action at London’s Roundhouse, it is clear their latest venture AVEN holds nothing back.

There’s very little, if any, narrative to this show, beyond some ecological nods to the world and nature, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Fuerza Bruta is — attempts to compare them to Cirque du Soleil would be unfair to both companies. On first entering the cavernous Roundhouse space, it feels like you’re entering a club, with a warm-up DJ spinning Noughties hits such as “I Got a Feeling” and “Destination Unknown”. When the performers step out and begin smashing drums, and a sea of iPhones rise above the crowd, you could be at a gig. Next, a giant, luminous globe appears from behind large curtains, suspended from a pulley, with acrobats quite literally globetrotting as they run around the circumference of the floating orb. Is it a piece of installation art or a circus act?

The confusion of what you’re seeing is part of the fun, and with Fuerza Bruta’s artistic director Diqui James claiming this is “the happiest show we have ever done,” fun is clearly the main order of the day. AVEN may only be a 70-minute production, but the energy levels demanded of the performers are taxing, and they more than rise to the challenge, making wild facial expressions, roaring at the audience, and pulling off beautifully controlled sequences while suspended in mid-air. In one particularly entertaining sequence, they perform a hip-hop routine during the most intense treadmill workout I have ever seen.

There is a sense, however, that everyone is trying a bit too hard to hype up the audience. Endless, tedious confetti cannons, strobe lights, a shuddering bass, and a water gun are used to immerse and engage the audience. At one point we are even instructed to crouch down before popping up again in a failed attempt to ramp up the club atmosphere.

Many sequences simply go on for too long, such as a wind tunnel containing slowly spinning performers and a huge rotating crane shunted to the middle of the room, with a dancer suspended from one end. Even the show’s penultimate act — a giant, inflatable whale, complete with a digital blinking eye — runs out of steam once the initial impact of a suspended aquatic creature has worn off.

Fans of Fuerza Bruta will be thrilled to know that the floating swimming pool makes a repeat appearance, albeit in a smaller form, and the revelry continues long after the final act has finished, thanks to James’s insistence that all venues provide an afterparty. AVEN is likely to divide opinion, but you cannot deny that this is a production determined to give you a good — and memorable — night out.

Book Fuerza Bruta: AVEN tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: AVEN. (Photos by Johan Persson)