Smashed

Gandini Juggling, Great Britain

“Smashed” is an hour-long piece involving nine skilled jugglers, 100 red apples, and a soundtrack featuring popular songs ranging from Tammy Wynette to Music Hall and Bach. A series of nostalgic filmic scenes explore conflict, tense relationships, lost love, and afternoon tea.

Inspired by the work of the great choreographer Pina Bausch, director Sean Gandini and Kati Ylä-Hokkala have borrowed elements of her gestural choreography and combined them with the intricate patterns and cascades of solo and ensemble juggling. Simultaneously evoking great pleasure and small disquiet, “Smashed” lightly disrupts the rigid conventions of etiquette, dress and body language. The result is a new hybrid of juggling which is performed with meticulous unison and split-second timing.

This funny, inventive, and characterful work is akin to dance theatre and will challenge your perception of contemporary juggling. This is a tea party you won’t forget!