'Cantina' better place to be

London’s West End has long held the torch as being the place to go; the one place in the city to see all the big name theatrical performances that are deeply embedded with the highest degree of attention grabbing spectacle which serves to ensnare the audience and pull them from the land of reality into the heights of the imaginary world.

But now the torch (that bright, gleaming torch of awe-inspiring entertainment) has been passed along as just adjacent to the south bank of the River Thames the Priceless London Wonderground (in association with the Southbank Centre) presents the hit show “Cantina”. While it uses a combination of Cirque de Soleil and Vaudeville to tell the stories of people in the world, “Cantina” takes the bar even higher by delving into the seedier side of human relationships (such as domestic violence) and explores the inherent passion – nay, even the beauty and the danger - of getting close to another person.

 

Never using spoken dialogue, the performers use only body language to convey different moments in the relationship cycle: from the beginning with two lovers meeting, slowly crossing the distance (in this case across a suspended rope in the air) to get to each other, to dancing around happy and excited as they slowly get to know one another and continuing to that moment when the dynamic shifts and violence get introduced into the relationship. In that moment, the performers highlight the all consuming passion of both partners in a relationship as they descend into a state of frenzy and go up against each other physically - hitting, grabbing, pulling, pushing, using their hands, using any and all objects they can grab a hold of (tray), descending further and further into madness. In this frantic moment the audience is pulled into the passion and consumed with the harsh, tragical beauty and complexities of human relationships.

 “Cantina” pulses with a never ending supply of emotional excitement, pervading into the audience’s blood and leaving them in a state of adrenaline infused excitement and the ability to recognize and appreciate the beauty in the passion.