Kyle Raftery, a recent graduate from the National institute of Circus Arts, loosely uses the music of Harry Connick Jr as a theme to this power-packed 50 minute family-friendly show, “Harry and Me”. The one-man show is presented in the beautiful main hall of the Northcote Town Hall with fantastic comfy floor cushions upfront (courtesy of the Moonlight Cinema) for the young audience members and roomy couches for the grown-ups behind.
Harry and Me mixes up some very impressive acrobat skills with brilliant clowning action and some genuine hold-your-breath moments as Raftery performs some truly remarkable stunts. To top it all off he belts out a pretty good tune, plays a cool tune on the trumpet and rides a unicycle. And his thrilling efforts to use a multi-fold ladder to change a very high light globe were reminiscent of scenes from a Monsieur Hulot or Mr Bean film.
This is one of the best all-ages shows I have caught in recent years. The multi-talented Raftery has put a lot of effort into this show – both in the conception and physically. He has great stage presence and has a genuine respect for his audience; this is not an adult show dumbed-down for kids, nor is it patronising – Raftery is all talent and class.
The Fringe program suggests an audience for eight-year-olds and over but as long as you keep a tight hold of little ones and do not let them step into the danger zone they will adore it too. Tickets are great value which means you can catch some incredible home-grown live performance at much better prices than an imported holiday movie. If this is the quality of graduates from NICA then perhaps running away to join the circus is not such a bad thing.
For booking Details go the Fringe website