Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror is advertised as a new musical, and it does have songs in, but it also has much more. To me, it feels like a play with music, dance, creative access design, and circus acrobatics mixed together. And the combination is very effective. The show is powerful, with funny moments, beautiful moments, and devastatingly sad moments as it reminds us of terrible things that have happened to people who are considered ‘different’ through history.
‘A celebration of hard won opportunity that must never be torn away’: WALDO’S CIRCUS OF MAGIC & TERROR – Touring
Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror is advertised as a new musical, and it does have songs in, but it also has much more. To me, it feels like a play with music, dance, creative access design, and circus acrobatics mixed together. And the combination is very effective. The show is powerful, with funny moments, beautiful moments, and devastatingly sad moments as it reminds us of terrible things that have happened to people who are considered ‘different’ through history.
‘Electrifying evening of fear & laughter’: CIRQUE BERSERK! – Riverside Studios
Overall, Cirque Berserk! at Riverside Studios does exactly what is says on the tin, offering up a real circus experience in a theatre setting. While it doesn’t quite have the same atmosphere as the Big Top (and some acts feel a little constrained by the comparatively small performance space), it’s every bit as thrilling as its tented counterpart.
‘You’ll be mesmerised from beginning to end’: KURIOS – Royal Albert Hall ★★★★★
The best advice I can give you for Cirque Du Soleil’s Kurios is, leave all sense of reality, understanding and logical explanation at the entrance of the Royal Albert Hall, for this visual spectacle defies and challenges all aspects of any logic or expectations you have, on every level.
‘Certainly won’t leave anyone bored’: WONDERVILLE: MAGIC & CABARET – Wonderville Club
Fresh from a West End run several months ago, Wonderville has hunkered down to do its own residency at its own purpose-built venue at the former Planet Hollywood café in London’s Haymarket, a few minutes from Piccadilly Circus. Here for an open-ended run, there is a mix of magic and variety acts, playing on rotation.
‘Certainly won’t leave anyone bored’: WONDERVILLE: MAGIC & CABARET – Wonderville Club
Fresh from a West End run several months ago, Wonderville has hunkered down to do its own residency at its own purpose-built venue at the former Planet Hollywood café in London’s Haymarket, a few minutes from Piccadilly Circus. Here for an open-ended run, there is a mix of magic and variety acts, playing on rotation.
‘There are death-defying close calls’: LA CLIQUE – Underbelly Festival Cavendish Square
Suffice to say, this is probably one of the strongest line-ups in the La Clique show over the last few years, and it is thoroughly enjoyable throughout.
‘Something for everyone, including comic interludes’: CIRCUS 1903 – Royal Festival Hall
With two hours of acts ranging from catchers to aerialists, jugglers to puppet elephants, teeterboard leapers to hula hoopers, Circus 1903 has something for everyone.
NEWS: Cabaret La Clique returns to the West End from 13 Nov with a new show and cast
Cabaret La Clique is back in the West End this Christmas with a new show and cast in Leicester Square’s mirrored Spiegeltent.
NEWS: Extraordinary Bodies’ revolutionary Human circus, featuring disabled & non-disabled artists, arrives at Woolwich Works
Human, the latest show from integrated circus collaboration Extraordinary Bodies, comes to London for three performances only at Woolwich Works on 5 and 6 November 2021.
‘Showing pockets of life’: Shana Carroll on what it’s like to bring Canadian circus company The 7 Fingers’ latest show to the UK
This Autumn, the UK is the first stop for Canadian contemporary circus company, The 7 Fingers, with their international tour of Passagers. Travel is an integral theme to the show but, after nearly two years of a global pandemic, the idea of traveling seems a world away from what it was when director Shana Carroll started creating the production.
‘Bill Bailey is simply brilliant’: Cabaret All Stars – Proud Embankment
Mastering his fusion of comedy and music and demonstrating his skills on the piano and guitar, Bill Bailey seamlessly holds the entire show Proud Cabaret All Stars show together.
‘Bill Bailey is simply brilliant’: Cabaret All Stars – Proud Embankment
Mastering his fusion of comedy and music and demonstrating his skills on the piano and guitar, Bill Bailey seamlessly holds the entire show Proud Cabaret All Stars show together.
NEWS: Underbelly Festival is set to return in summer 2021 with a new London home
Underbelly Festival is set to return to London this summer with a brand new home in Cavendish Square in the heart of Central London’s Oxford Street District.
’It is responsive & fresh to the situation we are living in right now’: Lina Johansson on Mimbre’s latest show To Untouch
Lina Johansson chats to Emma Clarendon about Mimbre’s latest show To Untouch which will be performed as part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival.
‘Does exactly what it says on the tin’: CIRQUE BERSERK – Touring ★★★
Newbury-based circus company Cirque Berserk! appears at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre as part of its 2020 tour. The company brands itself as ‘Real Circus made for Theatre’ and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
FIRST LOOK: Check out the new production images from Vault Festival’s Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto
Airborn babies, wine violins and an unusual linen basket – discover the world of Felicity Hesed’s Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto, which has its European premiere at VAULT Festival in February. Check out the production images, then book your tickets.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Luzia at the Royal Albert Hall
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for the European premiere of Luzia at the Royal Albert Hall.
NEWS: Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto receives European premiere at VAULT Festival
Cara Vita: A Clown Concerto, which explores the joys, sorrows, and hilarity of contemporary adulthood through music, circus and magic, will be seen in Europe for the first time this February as part of VAULT Festival. Book your tickets now.
‘Outstanding entertainment’: LEXICON – Roundhouse ★★★★
Traditional circus but with a defiantly modern, cutting edge, Lexicon’s live music sets a stunning pulse to the evening, with a backing that ranges from folk, to rock to balladry.