Melbourne Reviews

As I left the theatre after Ten Thousand Hours by Gravity & Other Myths, I heard another audience member describe the performance we’d just seen as “joyful”. Honestly, no other word encapsulates this production quite so well.

A quick hour of unbelievable strength and acrobatics; the title comes from Malcolm Gladwell’s "10,000-hour rule", made popular in his book, The Outliers. Gladwell proposed that in order to master something, you must dedicate at least 10,000 hours to the practice of it. Regardless of whether Gladwell’s theory is true, the artists of Gravity & Other Myths have clearly spent countless hours practising their craft to maximum effect.

Climbing, tumbling and out-of-this-world acrobatics are supported by an onstage drummer (Nick Martyn) who interacts with the performers, adding moments of comic relief between the death-defying stunts. Behind them is a giant digital clock, counting down the hours, minutes and seconds and giving context to the performance as the artists compete with each other or practise their skills.

It’s an entirely wholesome show, suitable for children and adults. The performers engage with the audience, appealing to the many children, and act out remarkable stunts with calculated ease, even if they are behaving as cats.

While every single performer was truly spectacular, Shani Stephens demonstrated such exceptional power and strength it has to be called out. As does Lachlan Harper, who I’m convinced has secret springs in his legs, jumping to higher and higher levels and balancing on the shoulders of his fellow troupe members.

The award-winning Australian company have been touring the world with their show and have at long last brought it to Melbourne. Without any hooks, mats, or extra bells and whistles, Ten Thousand Hours represents the incredible capabilities of the human body and promotes the concept that it’s okay to make mistakes. Occasionally the troupe will stumble or fall, and I honestly couldn’t discern if this was pre-choreographed or a real moment. At its heart, Ten Thousand Hours is about the willingness to fail, recover and try again, as many times as it takes. It’s a hopeful message to remember in difficult moments. As an added bonus, cast members were posted at each of the theatre doors, where they individually thanked everyone for coming. It was a really lovely personal touch, reinforcing the company's mission to create shows that are not only acrobatically incredible but also promote human connection.