Heka by Gandini Juggling

30 January 2025 to 1 February 2025 The Place

A new show from Gandini Juggling inspired by magic and the choreography of illusion.

A conjurer is not a juggler; he is an actor playing the part of a magician; an artist whose fingers have more need to move with deftness than with speed: (Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, Secrets of Conjuring and Magic, 1868)

Juggling and Magic are like long lost sisters. So similar and yet so different.

Gandini Juggling, the world-renowned and much-loved contemporary circus ensemble, will premiere its first new show for three years, Heka, at The Place, London from 30 January to 1 February as part of Mime London. After The Place performances, Gandini Juggling will tour the UK until June with ten venues confirmed and more to be added.

Heka,  named after the Egyptian goddess of magic, marks a departure for director Sean Gandini as he revisits the fascination with magic which began during his childhood in Havana. Using magic as a source of creativity and a choreographic language, he deconstructs the movements we associate with magic to create new and unexpected juggling tricks. Two magicians - Yann Frisch (France) and Kalle Nio (Finland) - have worked as magic consultants on the show.

Infused with a captivating blend of humour and philosophy, Heka draws inspiration from 20th-century magic tricks, mind games, sleights of hand. Embracing elements of contemporary choreography, it reimagines magic using repetition, counterpoint and misdirection and explores the dynamics of group magic, probing the possibilities of multiple hands and gestures and delving into the nuances of delay and anticipation. The result is a mesmerising choreography of juggling where everything is definitely not as it seems…
Above it all it is a celebration of the silliness and absurdity of entertainment, a homage to the delights of the absurd.

Listings

Heka by Gandini Juggling: Thursday 30 January to Saturday 1 February

The Place, LONDON, 17 Duke's Rd, London WC1H 9PY

Tickets: Heka | The Place