Street theatrics converge upon TO

BuskerFest is in town. I stopped by the St. Lawrence market for an hour today evening and had a chance to watch a couple of performers. The 1^st was a contortionist/juggler/comedian from Oz. When I showed up he had just started his act and was telling jokes in an attempt to draw a larger crowd. Once he was satisfied with the size of his following, he began to do a few warm-up contortions, which included bringing his arms over his head from behind his back with hands clasped. I wasn't impressed yet but I kept watching, since he had promised the show would keep getting better.

He followed that up by passing his entire body through a squash racquet whose strings had been removed. Admittedly, I've never done that myself but it didn't look that difficult, although I had to admire the aplomb with which he pulled it off. Next came his final act, for which he selected several volunteers from the audience. No sooner had he launched into his schpiel than a pair of old men began to fight over who had the right to an unobstructed view of the performance! I have to give him credit for handling this potentially volatile situation quite fluidly while continuing to spout jokes. After dispensing with the grumpy old men, the busker proceeded to climb atop a steel pole, upon which he juggled first balls and then knives. That was a fine sight indeed.

The other act I saw was a pair of jugglers from Tokyo, who made heavy use of ethnically charged slapstick to hold audience interest as they progressed through their repartoire. Even the best of their antics did not beat what I had seen earlier but I did enjoy watching them juggle wooden boxes on umbrellas.