Good art makes you feel something, while spectacular art lingers in your mind and heart for days. Portals, a brand new offering from the much‑acclaimed SA production company Ophidia Events, captures its audience through a mind‑bending hour of visually stunning and deeply heartfelt physical performance. If you can catch this gem before Fringe wraps up, its magic will stay with you long after.

As a production, Portals chooses to show rather than tell. Not a single word is spoken until curtain call, which only heightens its mystical atmosphere. There is a quiet reverance to the experience and, at many moments, watching felt like taking part in a sacred act of communal worship.

The show creates a true feast for the senses. At the centre of the stage stands a monolithic metal circle, crafted by the brilliant team at Technically De Lightful, from which beams of light burst out in gorgeous jewel tones. Intricate patterns ripple through the tent, punctuated by an expertly curated soundtrack. The lighting and music are so striking that they feel like additional cast members.

Across the hour, a highly skilled ensemble of quadruple threat performers weaves in and out of the audience, drawing everyone deeper under the show’s spell. Ophidia Events has a reputation for assembling strong line‑ups of local talent and Portals continues that tradition. Each performer expertly handles at least three different apparatus and props, moving between them with effortless grace. Every routine is tight, polished and bursting with physical intensity. The cast’s combined skills in aerials, fire, circus and contemporary dance create a powerful and cohesive ensemble.

Our protagonist, who guides the audience through the journey, is beautifully embodied by local performer and producer Phoebe Ophidia. Phoebe’s versatility shines throughout the show. They spin fire, they sing, and they use their commanding stage presence to illuminate the show’s most vulnerable and powerful moments.

Be warned, Portals will make you feel deeply, and that is entirely the point. It is lovingly crafted to prompt reflection on humanity and the strange, wonderful and heartbreaking experience of being awake, alive and aware. So, step through the portal. Experience something transcendently beautiful. And let it linger in your thoughts long after the final curtain falls.

Four and a half stars

Friday 20 March – Sunday 22 March

Tickets available here

Reviewed by Phoebe M.