Fringe review: JOY
Two years after their award-winning Adelaide Fringe debut, South Australian creatives Nu Article and Sound of Circus Australia have returned with a flawless tribute to the importance of art, self-compassion, and resilience. ★★★★★
When was the last time you felt pure joy?
That’s the question we’re asked after we take our seats and the lights go down. The voice that poses that question is rich, soothing and safe; this is important because, in our current moment, many might find that question hard to answer.
Welcoming us to JOY are four members of Nu Article, a South Australian band, one of whom is Nathan Chettle, the Musical Director of Sound of Circus. The show is soundtracked by Nu Article’s original music, a fusion of jazz, funk and hip-hop that somehow mesmerises, calms and energises the audience, all at once.
JOY also features four acrobats: Margot Mansfield, Jace Gonçalves, Jazzy Williamson-Gray and Amanda Lee, Sound of Circus’ Director. Each of the acrobats present awe-inspiring acts, whether it’s Mansfield’s hoop routine, Williamson-Gray’s showcase of physical strength and emotion through her movements, Gonçalves’ astonishing rope work, or Lee’s handstand act. However, what elevates JOY to a space above regular circus shows, is how the soundscape and the movements blend cohesively, making it a uniquely fluid and playful production.
A recurring song from Nu Article, which circles through at multiple points throughout the hour-long production, is ‘9 to 5’. This raises ideas about our ‘daily grind’, our participation in ‘rat-race’, and how this can often compete with our passion or our art.
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JOY is an ode to creatives doing what they love and shows how this love can be relentless. To highlight this, at times, the acrobats perform their movements repetitively, over and over again, sometimes imperfectly and to exhaustion. There is a recurring motif throughout the show where the acrobats drop to the ground at the end of their acts due to this exhaustion, showing how far we will go to keep our love alive outside of our day jobs, how far we will go for our art, and the toll this ultimately takes. Perhaps this display is also a call for help, asking for better structures support artists.
JOY is also about caring for yourself, and others around you — a hallmark of Sound of Circus’ work. At different points the performers pick each other up, replace each other, and metaphorically and physically carry each other through the space. The audience is welcomed into this atmosphere of vulnerability and self-care with a moment of guided meditation — a generous and gentle invitation to participate from our seats, and be part of the revealing and emotional experience that is joy.
In the final act, a disco ball drops from the roof, filling the tent with sparkling light. All four acrobats are on stage with the band, creating a joyful crescendo for the show. This scene evokes the familiar feeling of friends dancing together at the end of the night. It leaves the audience uplifted and hopeful — again, what many need at this point in time.
Back to that question: when was the last time you felt pure joy? In the Ukiyo tent, watching this stunning piece of art.
Read more 2025 Adelaide Fringe coverage here on InReview