one4review | On 23, Aug 2026

There’s something very personal and beautiful about this performance. You may read that the physicality is brilliant, the staging, costume changes, lighting, etc., but the reality is two human beings have spent the last 20 something years dedicated to one another, building a life, children, a home, work, love, hate, joy, pain and all the things that come when you decide to walk hand in hand with another person forever. It could be seen as a love letter to relationships or even the human condition. This show is not a simple circus or acrobatics piece; it’s a deliberate marking of time.

Alex and Charlotte met at circus school two decades ago, and although they promised each other never to work together, they quickly realised that wasn’t possible in the world of performance and physical theatre. “You’ve retired, right?” was the spark that lit the flame of this show. Collaborator is their intentional, intimate farewell to the stage.

There are no flashy pieces, only the use of physical language to show how people grow with one another. Do the falling pieces represent their children, their home, their work? When they become entangled, is this their personal wants and goals getting intertwined or their own personal frustrations with life, society or each other getting in the way? There’s something very beautiful about the small moments where they simply pause and watch on, almost helpless.

There are several lifts, catches, and simply supporting each other over time; it mirrors the emotional reality of relationships: the necessary tension. They are reliant on the other catching them, holding them, but ultimately they are witnessing each other’s lives like no one else on the planet. We get to peek into their emotional language almost more than their physical one.

What must it be like to have a relentless touring schedule while also raising a family and keeping a home? There is a profound and very recognisable weight when one considers their own lives, children, careers, family and so on. When the career ends, the children have flown, who or what is left but that other human staring back at you. The mention of “dark days” and the depiction of struggles was choreographed so agonisingly perfectly that you can’t help but weep at how human it all is. How similar we all ultimately are, regardless of whether you’re running a company or writing a review for a show.

This is simply a masterclass in human connection that will resonate with anyone moving through the highs and lows of love, commitment and being a parent. Thank you Alex and Charlotte, for bringing something beautiful to the fringe. It’s heartbreaking at times but when you capture the fleeting moments of togetherness so well it’s a show I’ll truly think about for a long time. I, like many others, will miss seeing you on stage.

*****
Reviewed by Matthew
Pleasance at EICC
Until 22 August
17.00 (55 mins)