Towards the end of the 19th Century, when there was a flourishing variety and music hall world, and when devoting one’s life to being a juggler was actually a viable career choice, there was something called a gentleman juggler. They would dress in the finest tailored suits, hand-made shoes, dashing hats, and silver cufflinks.
They would appear on stage as dapper playboys and perform feats of dazzling manipulative expertise with hats, canes, cigars, spoons, knives, plates, vases, furniture – in short anything that a gentleman might encounter while on a night out. They were cool, clever, witty, and their charisma, if it could be harnessed, could have powered a steam ship. They were the pop stars of their day.
Since the late 1980′s, Mat Ricardo has been doing exactly that. It is, though, no longer the day of the gentleman juggler, and Mat Ricardo is, as you may already be aware, not a pop star.
He has, however, risen through the ranks to carve out a successful and healthy career in the places where juggling is still seen as something to be watched and enjoyed rather than in his native England where it is seen as showing off, and thus should be discouraged. He regularly headlines theatres in Europe, works comedy festivals around the world, performs on some of the finest cabaret and burlesque stages, and on cruise ships throughout the seven seas. Accordingly, he is hardly ever at home and hasn’t had a good full english breakfast in god knows how long.
So, he’s decided to return to the UK to premier his new show “Mat Ricardo: Three Balls and a Good Suit“. It’s an evening of tales from the life of a jaded novelty act, with the occasional spellbinding and spectacular trick thrown in.
In this show you will hear of his time hanging out in Tokyo with monkey from the 70′s TV show Monkey. You’ll learn how to tell when someone’s died on a cruise ship. You’ll find out why you should never trust a magician, and never go out with a juggler. You’ll hear levels of cynicism that you never knew existed. Oh, and you’ll see a few tricks that nobody else in the world can do – including the legendary reverse tablecloth pull, where the cloth gets put back on the table underneath all the objects. Yes.
Last year TNC was lucky enough to be at Edinburgh Fringe and see some of the best comedy we could have dreamed of. This year we are making sure we can give all our readers a massive head start in planning the shows they are going to want to see. We are honoured to have been in touch with the guys at Laughing Horse and we Mat’s show is going to something pretty special and we know we are going to be there. We are going to be interviewing Mat later this week and will have that up on the website when it happens.
Past Reviews:
“The undenied highlight of the show…spectacular juggling…so humourous that the audience laughed until they could laugh no more!” Neuepresse
“Impeccable charm and considerable skill” Bruce Dessau, London Evening Standard
“A delightful mix of skills and humour…the finale really does seem impossible!” Liz Aratoon, The Stage
“Mat Ricardo is the best of both Worlds – a genius juggler and a gifted comedian.” TimeOut.com
Edinburgh Fringe 2010 Show Details
MAT RICARDO: THREE BALLS AND A GOOD SUIT
Tales from the life of a jaded novelty act
Albany Studio Deptford
30th & 31st July 2010 8pm
Five Pounds
With special guest!
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Maggies Chamber
Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters
139 Cowgate
5th – 19th August 2010
7.30pm
Admission Free
www.MatRicardo.com
Hello@MatRicardo.com
