This was a hoot – an all singing, all dancing, circus extravaganza, guided by a “straighten up and fly right” vibe. The premise was that two blokes pitted their stable of acts against each other – one slick and precision based and the other revolving around shows of strength. All acts were set in the ’50s or swingin’ ’60s and it was as much a celebration of lounge and cabaret as circus.
The first act was like the start of a Bond movie and what followed were displays of strength, contortion, swing dance routines, roller-skating, aerials, acrobatics and hooping – all a bit like a groovy variety show. The tattooed pin-up looking aerialist was a neat juxtaposition. In what was basically a period piece, we were thrown back to a time when a tattooed lady (or man for that matter) was a thing of wonder.
The costumes rocked – the Mary Quant looking mod dresses and the Pucci inspired baby-doll numbers showed splendid attention to detail. Special mention goes to the pocket rocket strong woman. It’s pretty common in adagio circus routines for a bloke to fling about a little lady, but watching a woman, especially such a diminutive one, sling a man is gasp-worthy. Second special mention goes to the world’s biggest mirror ball.
BY MEG CRAWFORD
