Review: Zip Zap Circus Brings Flips, Thrills, and South African Culture to New York in Moya

Nelson Mandela once spoke about his dream of South Africa becoming a Rainbow Nation, a multicultural country united in peace. That dream inspired Brent van Rensburg and Laurence Estève to found Zip Zap Circus, a troupe of amazing performers now wowing audiences at the New Victory Theater in their acrobatic thrill ride Moya. Directed by van Rensburg and choreographed by Adele Blank, Moya is an eye-popping, family-friendly show that celebrates South Africa while keeping you on the edge of your seat.

The show has a loose storyline that centers around a young man (Jacobus Claassen) who has had a rough upbringing, but his luck changes when he comes across an acrobat (Masizakhe Kovi doing handstands on slender poles) and quickly discovers he has talents he never knew about. With hard work and a lot of spirit (“moya” in Zulu), he finds a place where he can thrive among friends.

His story mirrors the lives of many of the performers, and all nine of them get a chance to show their stuff during the 70-minute show, with a couple of the high-flying acts causing my 7-year-old theater buddy, Noah, to ask, “Do they put in any safety measures?”

I assured him that they do, but I’ll admit I was thinking the same thing as aerialist Bridgette Berning soared above the stage on a trapeze, and later seemed to plunge to the ground as she unwound herself during the Scarf act (Kieran McGregor’s lighting intensifies the effect). Phelelani Ndakrokra also had the audience gasping as he exhibited his strength with the straps and spun around with incredible speed and no net below. Both performers are among the show’s highlights.

Just as impressive are Moya’s jugglers Vuyani Lottering and Akho Narwele, acrobat Luqmaan Benjamin, and their colleague Matthew Risk, who shows us how to double-Dutch while bouncing on a unicycle. Ndakrokra on the Cyr wheel, however, was Noah’s favorite: “I bet I can do that,” he said. “It’s like a Hula-Hoop.”

Van Rensburg adds some distinctive South African elements in the Gumboots act, where the troupe dons colorful pants (costumes by Beaura Jacobs) and white Wellington boots to perform a percussive step dance that originated with migrant laborers in South African gold mines (Sbonakaliso Ndaba choreographed this segment). The dance is accompanied by Josh Hawks’s original music celebrating the beauty of Africa and the hope of unity. Jason Barnard, who does incredible dual juggling with Claassen, reinforces those ideas with a moving spoken-word poem at the end.

The world is unfortunately far from achieving Mandela’s dream, but at least the Zip Zap Circus still dares to share in it while giving kids and adults a terrific time at the theater—as well as a lot to think about. Afterward, I asked Noah how the show made him feel. He didn’t hesitate: “Happy,” he said. That made two of us.