Cirque du Ciel Review

ShangHi

The Chinese circus tradition is more than 2000 years old, but all the old routines like hand balancing and contortionism, double Chinese poles and hat juggling come up like new again in ShangHi, the exciting new theatre show from Cirque du Ciel.
Directed by Zhang Wan who worked with Cirque du Soleil’s Guy Caron on an earlier version of the show called Magical Musical Box, ShangHi has a slender storyline: a sleeping girl dreams of watching and joining in with acrobats. But the stunts come thick and fast against a projected backdrop of swirling colours and a loud, westernised soundtrack given extra energy by a tireless onstage drummer.
Two highlights both feature foot juggling. The men juggle with each other in hip-hop clothes in the first scene that really gets the crowd excited. The women juggle with drums which they also play.
The skill level is high, the large cast routines are slickly choreographed and the glittering costumes are attractive in this high energy show which is touring the UK until August 25.
But what is the history of the Chinese circus and its influence on western circus? The answers can be found in Circus Mania, by Douglas McPherson, which goes behind the scenes of the Chinese State Circus as well as cutting edge cirque shows such as Cirque du Soleil and Cirque de Glace, traditional big top circuses and hybrids like the Circus of Horrors to discover the traditions, superstitions and secrets of the circus breed.

...........................................................................................................
!!!CIRCUS MANIA SPECIAL OFFER!!!
Described by the Mail on Sunday as “A brilliant account of a vanishing art form,“ Circus Mania retails at £14.99, To save £5 off the recommended retail price and buy Circus Mania at the special offer price of just £10 postage-free, send cheques to:Peter Owen Publishers
81 Ridge Road
London N8 9NP
Or telephone 020 8350 1775 to buy what World’s Fair called “The Greatest Show On Earth In A Book!”

Circus Talk!

Wish me luck... and if you’re in the Great Yarmouth area, come along to my first public appearance promoting Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed Of Running Away With The Circus.

The Time and Tide Museum Of Great Yarmouth Life has invited me to give a reading from Circus Mania and tell some of the stories from the book as part of their Showtime circus exhibition (see post below for more details).

I’ll be appearing at 11.30am on Friday June 25 at the museum, which is on Blackfriars Road, Great Yarmouth, NR30 3BX. Tickets are £2.60, which includes tea or coffee. For more info, phone 01493 743930.

Hope to see you there. Just don’t be late, because the Tide and Time Museum waits for no man.

Also, if you’re in Norfolk, you can hear me talking about Circus Mania on Maggie Seker’s Radio Norfolk show on Sunday June 20 at 3pm.

Circus Mania
author
Douglas McPherson

Finally, I’ve just got back from seeing the Russian Ice Stars fantastic production of Snow White On Ice. Following their venture into circus last year with Cirque De Glace, it’s good to see that they have retained some circus tricks to enliven this more traditional display of ice dance. Some terrific aerial silk and aerial strap work, including a guy literally swinging from a chandelier, drew audible gasps from an audience clearly not expecting to see skaters take to the air in such dramatic ways.

See this show if you get the chance, and look out for their next Cirque show which is due in the autumn.

Of course, you can read the full story of the making of Cirque de Glace in Circus Mania. It’s in all good bookshops - or you can save a fiver by buying it direct from Peter Owen Publishers for the special offer price of just £10 postage-free. Just send a cheque to Peter Owen Publishers, 81 Ridge Road, London N8 9NP