During the summer, a group called Alternative Arts sponsors a series of free, midday street theater performances, the locale oscillating between Soho Square and Victoria Embankment Gardens. One of the performing troupes is a duo calling itself The Better Halves, offering an entertainment titled In the Balance, which is described as "an acromantic tale of two lovers teetering on the brink." The performers are Jakob B. Goode and Josephine Public. There is no real story - rather, we get a sort of vaudeville act with some audience participation.
Jakob, dressed all in black, doffs his clothes until only a swim brief remains. He proceeds to borrow a camera from an onlooker and purports to take a picture of himself. Josephine tosses a bouquet of roses to a viewer and then chooses a "lover" from the audience to join her in the acting arena. She stands on his shoulders and raises a lighted flare to suggest the Statue of Liberty. She then does a juggling act with three flaming torches. The duo go through some acrobatic maneuvers, and Jakob provides a demonstration of flame-swallowing.
As a climax, the "lover" is told to bend over, and Jakob stands on his back with hands raised, whereupon Josephine does a handstand on the upturned hands. One hopes the newcomer doesn't emerge with a sprained back. General applause from the onlookers, who return to munching on their takeaway lunches.
