Take a walk into the spellbinding world of Yoah. A place where music, lights and action come together in perfect unison, creating a show that has never been seen before at the Adelaide Fringe. This Japanese production uses ultramodern visual effects to bring this fascinating work of art to life, blending Japanese drums, electro beats and some of the world’s premiere artists to tell its story. The end result is synchronicity at its absolute best. 

The storyline for YOAH is relatively simple. A woman looks to the moon to try and find some hope in her life. Taking a journey of fantastical proportions, we follow along as she meets several characters who each light the way to the path she is looking for. Light is probably the operative word to use in this production as it plays a major role throughout the hour-long journey. It creates a such hypnotic effect on the audience that, in one instance, I found myself staring at the beautiful dancing lights on the backlit curtain for a full five minutes before I was able to blink. 

For such a quiet, tension-filled story like YOAH, the only negative I found was, not from the performers, but the next-door venue hosting the thunderous Club 27 show. When you’re watching someone trying to perform acrobatics on six stacked chairs (in one of the quieter scenes), the last thing you want to hear is Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady being blared at the MOA arena where this show is being held. It ruins the mood and is a problem I find at least two or three times a fringe season at Gluttony.

Nothing can take away from the cast's outstanding performances though, and although there may have been one or two small errors, these artists are performing feats so difficult that 99% of the world's population couldn’t do them, so I’ll definitely cut them some slack. If you’re looking to be moved, if you’re looking to feel something, if you’re looking for a show that’s just a cut above, then YOAH is that show!

FIVE STARS *****

Reviewed by Shane Berketa