Soft Spot: wine-glass circus pours skill but lacks fizz
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- Stina Otterström and Arttu Lahtinen present Soft Spot, a Swedish circus two-hander in which wine glasses — starting at six and growing to dozens — become acrobatic props at Zoo Southside, Edinburgh, running until 30 August
- Handstand artist Otterström performs inversions holding glass stems between her toes and balancing glass bases on her soles, while juggler Lahtinen balances glasses on planks he glides around her body and slides, tosses, stacks, and stands upon empty glasses
- OLO Company and Cluster Arts produce the restrained, hour-long show, scored by composer Mika Forsling and lit by Jaakko Sirainen
- The reviewer judges the performance stays in one register too long with insufficient variation in Forsling's music, and compares it unfavorably to Compagnie Nyash's Stoel, whose mismatched chairs developed distinct personalities
- A standout sequence involves a mock-solemn brush tidying a breakage, with shards eventually swept around the stage to form a surround for the final barefoot tricks — described as more atmospheric than an earlier recorded sound effect and worthy of cabaret bills
- The review finds the duo remain demure throughout, but their witty curtain-call speech signals they could deploy more personality across the show itself
Why it matters: For Edinburgh Fringe audiences weighing their schedule, the review identifies a technically accomplished but restrained hour that plays in one register too long. The barefoot finale on swept glass shards and a witty curtain call reveal the duo's strongest moments — their weaknesses, the reviewer argues, are structural rather than skill-based.
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