The magic of the Indian circus

The circus is one of Britain's most successful cultural exports. Created in London in 1768, it quickly spread around the world. Wherever it went, it absorbed local traditions - acts native to that specific region. At the same time, different countries created their own unique flavour of the travelling big top show.

India was a relative latecomer to the circus world. Vishnupant Chatre established the country's first homegrown show, The Great Indian Circus,in 1880, inspired by a visit to Bombay by the Royal Italian Circus. 

Keeleri Kunhikannan, a martial arts and gymnastics teacher, trained acrobats for Chatre and opened India's first circus school in 1901. Many of Kunhikannan's pupils became key players in the subcontinent's emerging big top business and led to him becoming known as the Father of the Indian Circus. 

During the 20th century, the circus boomed in India as it did elsewhere. By the end of the century, however, it had problems. As the country modernised, it faced competition from television, cinema and the internet.

As in the West, there were concerns for the well being of the elephants and lions that formed the heart of the shows. Wild animals were banned from the Indian big top in 2017. Unlike their Western counterparts, Indian circuses also gained an unsavoury reputation for exploiting child performers who were sold into apprenticeships or even abducted, and more or less owned by the proprietors. Such practices have now also been outlawed. 

The Indian circus endures, however, and today has a very distinct character of its own. On a whistle stop tour of some of its biggest travelling shows - Jumbo Circus, NK Rolex Circus, Bingo Circus, Gemini Circus, Diamond Circus, and Malda Tarzen Circus - I saw many acts that you would see anywhere in the world, such as jugglers, aerial silks and flying trapeze. 

I also found more commonalities between each show than differences. Together they very much shared a distinct aesthetic, with similar acts and styles of presentation across the board. So rather than review individual shows, I have decided to list some of the common features that set the Indian circus apart from the UK scene.

1 - They have impressive frontages decorated with paintings of the acts. Gates in these brightly coloured facades typically lead to an open walkway to a tented foyer that is equally lavishly decorated. There's a definite sense of arriving at an Indian circus, especially considering that the prices start at 150 rupees, which is about £1.25 in UK terms, and the best seats go for 500 rupees (about four quid). 

2 - They like to keep the lights on. While UK shows favour a lot of lighting effects in blacked out big tops, all the Indian shows I saw were performed in brightly lit tents, with as much light on the audience as the ring. The lighting was only rarely dimmed - in one case for a limbo routine with a lot of fire, and in another instance for a Globe of Death with illuminated bikes. All the other acts took place in the same stark lighting, which also showed off the colourfully patterned ceilings of the big tops. 

3 - They're not big on individuality. None of the shows I watched had any kind of theme or storyline to set them apart from each other. More than that, they all tended to field very similar acts in much the same order. In fact some acts were almost identical from show to show, down to the costuming and even the music. At least three shows also had near identical flag-bearing opening parades. It was as if they were all following a common blueprint of what a circus should be. And perhaps that comes from an inherent part of the travelling show tradition. Circuses that come to your town are not really in competition with each other. You go to the circus that has come to you, rather than picking a show to go to. A show that dared to be different may risk disappointing expectations. 

4 - Little people are big in India. Nearly every show had two or three of what used to be called midgets, all clad in similar clown costumes and playing similar roles. 

5 - Bicycles are also big. By far the best acts I saw were female trick bicycle riders. Perhaps they stood out for me because we don't see many of them in Britain. But that's not the case in India. Every show had at least one bike act and often two - a solo performer and a group performance.

6 - But animals aren't. As in the UK, animals have almost completely disappeared from India's big tops. Across six shows I saw only one act with animals: a dog act.

7 - The Globe of Death sits on the sidelines. Literally. The motorbike cage is as ubiquitous in India as it is in the UK. The difference is that British shows invariably wheel the sphere into the centre of the ring, usually as a finale. In Indian big tops, the cage stands at the side of the tent, beside the ring doors. But not only when it's not in use. At every show it stayed in the same place, outside the ring, while the riders performed in it.

Highlights

Despite the sameness of the shows I watched, the most ardent circus fan would be hard pressed to visit any show in the world and not see at least one act they had rarely or never seen before, and that was the case in India as much as anywhere. Here are some of my favourites.

At NK Rolex, a neat fakir act in which two men each balanced with their arms and legs outstretched supported only by their torsos, which were each resting on four spear-like spikes. A board was then placed across their backs and a woman performed the same stance on a similar set of spikes positioned on top of the board.

Also at Rolex, a blindfolded swordsman slicing bananas held in the palms of his assistants.

At Jumbo Circus, a foot juggler using a very tall piece of apparatus best described as a pole with seven small platforms attached to its length and a basket on top. With deft thrusts and hip twists, the performer bounced an inflatable ball up the pole from one platform to the next before depositing it in the basket at the top.

Elsewhere were accomplished Chinese pole, aerial hoop, chair balancing and large troupe flying trapeze acts. It all added up to the magic of the Indian circus.

Review of Kingdom of Kong by Big Kid Circus - the best looking big top show in Britain

 

Salesmen have an old saying: sell the sizzle not the sausage. It’s not the product that people buy, it’s the feeling that the product gives them. The buzz of excitement. The lift out of everyday mundanity.

That goes especially for nonessential buys. And doubly especially in tough times, when nonessentials are the first things people stop buying.

It’s something the circus has always understood, providing affordable glitz and glamour. A cheap night out for all the family, often in areas where other family nights out may be in short supply.

“In a recession,” Zippos founder Martin Burton said in my book Circus Mania, “when more people are holidaying in the UK and not buying that new car, they want to take the kids out for a treat, and a trip to the circus is an inexpensive family treat.”

But that doesn’t mean circuses are guaranteed an audience. Especially in the current economic situation when profits are squeezed between trying to keep prices affordable while costs such as the diesel the shows move and run on are higher than they have ever been.

“I think we’re all surviving,” says Julia Kirilova of Big Kid Circus. “People are cautious about how they spend their money.”

For its 20th anniversary edition, however, Big Kid Circus has cut no corners. With its show Kingdom of Kong, it has done the opposite, sparing no expense to present what I have no doubt is the best-looking circus production to tour the UK for a long time.

Photo by Andrew Payne

At its centre is Kong himself, a specially designed and built 30-foot-tall animatronic ape who emerges snarling and rolling his head from the back of the stage before lifting a contortionist who performs, Fay Wray-style, in the palm of his giant paw.

The solid floor performance area looks more like a jungle clearing than a circus ring, surrounded by giant flora and fauna that also extends up the king poles of the big top.

Atmospheric lighting adds to the jungle atmosphere, as does the costuming, dancing and a soundtrack that mixes new and traditional African sounds into a heart-quickening brew.

Before anyone even does anything, Big Kid is, in short, selling the sizzle more than any other show on the road.

“We don’t just want to offer a traditional circus show,” says Kirilova. “We want to add a storyline, and still be attractive to the kids. We’re not going as far as Cirque du Soleil where nobody knows what world they’re in.”

I would say they have got the balance just right. The storyline about a couple of explorers – the clowns – trying to steal a diamond from an African tribe is pitched at kids level. In the style of a pantomime, perhaps. But no one goes to the circus for Chekhov (hopefully) and the story does its job in stringing the acts together in an accessible way without boring the adults too much.

But what of the sausage behind the sizzle?

Even Cirque du Soleil, for all its grand presentation, knows that the circus lives and dies on its acts – what Soleil calls its “acrobatic skeleton.”

Here again, Big Kid delivers.

Some expected big top fare – foot juggling, hair hanging, rollerskating, Wheel of Death – is lifted by the African dressing. An aerial straps guy dressed as Tarzan is a perhaps obvious but nonetheless smile-inducing nod to the setting. 

But there are some more unusual stand-out acts, too.

Photo by Andrew Payne

First is a man performing on an unsupported ladder. A really impressive and engaging one-person act.

A troupe of human tower acrobats are equally good. When a three-man tower falls forward like a toppled tree, it’s a good heart-stopping circus moment, smoothly resolved when the performers land with perfectly performed forward rolls.

Perhaps the most original act is a large troupe mix of basketball and springboard. But strong competition comes from an extremely rubbery 'alien contortionist' who seems capable of bending his joints in ways that should be impossible.

The clowns, meanwhile, deliver a traditional chase through the audience while spraying copious amounts of water from a pressure washer. There’s nothing like a good dousing with water to get an audience squealing and screaming and knowing they’ve had a good time.

The finale is a Globe of Death, but with a difference: it’s the UK’s only all-female team, which was painstakingly assembled by Kirilova with performers from all over the world.

The gender of the motorcyclists may not make much difference as viewed from ringside. And that’s kind of Kirilova’s point. She plans to take the act onto Britain’s Got Talent with a view to normalising the idea of women taking part in a traditionally male-dominated act.

“An all-female globe shouldn’t be a novelty,” she says.

Photo: Andrew Payne

The circus was at the forefront of female empowerment long before feminism was a word. The Victorian circus featured women lifting weights and swinging on the trapeze at a time when their activities were strictly curtailed in other avenues of society.

Big Kid Circus continues that tradition by including the only female Globe of Death rider from Iran. 

“I think that’s so symbolic and so special, for a country like Iran where it still has its strict regulations around women and perceptions around how women should be,” says Kirilova. “She’s breaking all sorts of boundaries. Something like this would never be accepted in Iran. They don’t even allow women to perform on stage, never mind something as extreme as that.”

Kingdom of Kong is a show that could run and run. But in the spirit of continually moving forward, Big Kid is retiring the big ape at the end of this season. Next year they’ll be back with the Jurassic Circus featuring giant animatronic dinosaurs.

I can’t wait!

The World's Strongest Teeth!

 

Circus star Michael Radiff has bitten his way to a Guinness World Record by lifting three people with a combined weight of 185.80 kg (409.61 lb) more than six inches off the ground... with his teeth!

The American Iron Jaw star performed the stunt in a show in Taipei City, Taiwan this year.

"Training Iron Jaw at the beginning was a very slow and painful process," said Radiff. "Building the strength and pain tolerance in my jaw and neck took a lot of patience and determination."

Tallest-Ever Human Pyramid Stands 10 Levels Tall

 

Not in a circus, but the tallest-ever human pyramid climbed into Guinness World of Records this year by reaching 10 levels at a festival to celebrate the birth of Krishna.

The pyramid reached a height of 14.73 metres (48 ft 3.92 in), which is as tall as a three-storey building, and broke a previous record of nine levels that had stood for decades.

Risk is part of the circus, says injured Globe of Death rider

 

The Globe of Death isn’t just a scary name. When you have multiple motorcyclists looping the loop inside a spherical cage, the stunt is only ever a second’s loss of control from a serious accident.

Proving the danger behind the glamour of every circus stunt, Globe of Death rider Malin Yovov came a cropper during a Circus Funtasia performance in Helston, Cornwall this summer. His tyre blew out, causing him to crash into another rider. He suffered three broken ribs – but won’t be deterred from rejoining the act as soon as he is able.

“This is all part and parcel of live entertainment,” Malin said on the circus’ social media. “People pay money to see the best shows in the UK with the most extreme stunts. I’m well aware of the dangers of this performance and I thrive off it. When I hear the audience go wild, I just can’t wait for the next show to do it all again.”

Click here for the story of how Circus Funtasia boss Tracy Jones ran away with a circus… and ended up starting her own.

Currently in Helston, Circus Funtasia will open in Bude on 11 August.

Big Kid Circus goes ape (big time!)

With its jungle scenery and a contortionist performing in the palm of a 30-foot-tall animatronic ape, could Kingdom of Kong, the new show by Big Kid Circus be the best looking show touring the UK this year?

Big Kid is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and with Kingdom of Kong, directed by Julia Kirilova, it proves why circus will never die: the big top's perpetual ability to introduce new, never-before-seen spectacle.

With a storyline in which the clowns are explorers trying to steal a diamond from an African tribe, the show also includes the world's only all-female Globe of Death motorcyclists and a very fresh-looking basketball-meets-springboard act.

Atmospheric music and lighting, and a view through ringside flora that transforms the performance area into a jungle clearing, create a fully immersive experience with a completely different appearance to traditional images of sawdust and canvas.

And if the above picture doesn't make you want to buy a ticket, what would???

For venues click here.

 

No, not a circus act...

 

... but British armoured cars disguised as elephants in Burma in WW2.

Short Story: One Day In The Future

What would Philip Astley, the Father of the Circus, make of today’s animal-free big top? Find out in this timeslip story by Douglas McPherson, which originally appeared in My Weekly. In 1794, flames lit up the night sky. Astley’s Amphitheatre, the greatest hippodrome in London, was ablaze. The streets south of Westminster Bridge were full of smoke and running men. Philip Astley hadn’t seen such chaos since the war against the French, which he’d fought his way through on horseback, sword in hand. At least he’d got all the horses out of the arena, and the people, with no lives lost. The business he’d built for twenty years, he couldn’t save. Choked with smoke and physically spent, England’s greatest showman staggered into a dark lane. He fell against a wall and then to the ground. His world dissolved into blackness. Two-hundred-and-thirty years later, the sun rose over a man laying on the pavement. He opened his eyes and blinked. “Patty?” He grabbed the wrist of the woman leaning over him. “I’m not Patty, sir, I’m Jane – a paramedic.” “The fire!” The man’s eyes appeared to focus. “Where’s Patty?” “What fire is that, sir?” It had been a long shift, but Jane hadn’t heard of any conflagrations in the area. “My amphitheatre! It was ablaze.” “Try to stay still, sir, until I see if you're injured.” Jane put the man at around 50 – twice the age of the typical male she found passed out on a pavement after a party. He’d clearly been to some kind of event. He wore knee-high black boots, white breeches and a short red tunic with rows of gold braid across the front, like a member of a marching band. His clothes and face were smeared with soot and he smelt of smoke. “Can you tell me your name, sir?” “Philip Astley.” “As in the man who invented the circus?” Jane realised his clothes were a circus outfit. “Yes, that’s me,” he said without smiling. “Fancy dress party, was it? So what’s your real name?” “That is my real name!” Brushing aside her protests, he climbed to his feet. He was tall and powerfully built. “Where am I?” “Cornwall Road, Lambeth,” Jane told him. “I don’t recognise these buildings.” Philip’s eyes widened as a car sped past Jane’s ambulance, which was parked on the kerb. “What in the name…? Carriages without horses?” “I think you may have hit your head,” said Jane. “Can you tell me the date?” “The 17th… no, that was yesterday. The 18th of September, 1794.” “Try adding a couple of centuries,” said Jane. “It’s the 18th of September ….2024.” “What nonsense do you speak?” Philip demanded. “Does it look like 1794 to you?” Jane asked. “No.” Philip rubbed his chin. “It does not.” A thunderous rumbling made him spin around. He watched in wonder as a train rolled over a bridge. “Is this witchcraft?” he mused. “But hold on! If this is the future, how would you recognise my name and know of my circus?” “My dad’s a circus fan,” Jane grinned. “And there’s a blue plaque over there.” Philip followed her pointing finger along the pavement. High on the orange brick wall was a blue disc.

ASTLEY’S

Philip and Patty Astley first staged spectacular horse-riding feats nearby in 1768.

Adding acrobats and clowns they created what we know as

CIRCUS

Cupped in the bottom of the circle were the words 250th anniversary 2018. Philip stared at the memorial like a man who had found his own grave. Jane gazed at him and shivered. She’d never believed in ghosts or time travel, but an icy feeling was making her pulse race. Taking out her phone, she looked up Astley’s Wikipedia page. “Sir, what is your date of birth?” “8th of January, 1742,” he answered automatically. “Place of birth?” “Newcastle-under-Lyme.” Jane’s throat tightened as she checked the information. “When did you open your amphitheatre?” “Twenty years ago, in 1773.” “And your riding school before that?” “Just after the war. 1768.” “What regiment did you serve in?” “The Light Dragoons,” Philip snapped. “Why?” Jane thought it was a lot of backstory for a fancy dress party-goer to memorise. But he couldn’t really be Astley, could he? Jane stared queasily at the date Astley’s first amphitheatre had burned down: it would have been last night, 230 years ago. “Do you have any ID on you?” she asked. “ID?” Philip frowned, as if she'd used a foreign word. “Anything in your pockets that might help us… clear this up.” He checked, and Jane prayed he would find a driving licence that would prove he was John Ordinary, born in the 1970s. “Looks like I have just a few farthings to my name.” Jane looked at the coins in his palm. The pavement wobbled beneath her. She was no coin collector, but she knew at a glance that the money was 18th century. “I think we should have a doctor take a look at you,” Jane said carefully. “A ride in your horseless carriage?” Philip flashed a showman’s grin. “If this is a dream, I might as well enjoy it.” Late that afternoon, Philip stood in a hospital gown, staring from an upstairs window at a London he didn’t recognise. The dream that he’d begun to enjoy had long lost its novelty. He wondered impatiently if he would ever wake – and, more worryingly, if he was dreaming at all. The door of his room opened and he turned to see Jane. She’d changed from her paramedic overalls to a jumper and long skirt. “Ah, a visitor to the lunatic asylum.” Amid all the confusion of the day, Jane had been a kindly presence and he was glad to see her again. She reminded him of his darling Patty: a strong, capable woman. When he’d set out his first ring in the open air on Lambeth marsh, Patty had played the drum while he performed tricks on horseback, standing on the galloping animal’s back with his sword brandished aloft. Patty had ridden her own horse in the show – side saddle with no reins and her hands in the air, gloved in two swarms of bees that buzzed around her, to the amazement of the crowd. “It’s not an asylum, it’s a hospital,” Jane gently corrected him. “An asylum is where you think I belong, though, isn’t it?” Philip said grimly. “You all think I’m mad – and perhaps I am.” “Not mad. Maybe confused.” Jane said it without conviction, because it was she who was baffled. “I’ve brought your clothes. Freshly dry cleaned.” She put his tunic, shirt and breeches on the bed. They’d turned out to be not a costume. Not the modern fancy dress type, anyway. A silk label inside the tunic identified its tailor and date of manufacture: 1790. She supposed it could be an antique, but it looked almost new. “The doctor did a DNA test and there’s no record of you anywhere,” Jane said. “You don’t match any missing persons. The address you gave no longer exists.” “Then I’m to be locked up here?” “You’re not a prisoner. You’re free to go at any time,” said Jane, although she wondered where he could go with just a handful of 18th century change. “I’d be better off locked up.” Philip indicated a newspaper he’d been reading. “Out there seems to be the madhouse.” “The doctor recommends you stay here a few days to see if…” Jane stopped herself saying, “... you remember who you really are.” “In the meantime,” she said, “I had an idea, and the doctor agreed it might be worth a try. We wondered if you’d like to go to the circus?” It was a balmy evening, with the sun just setting, as they walked across the heath towards the lights of a red-and-yellow big top. On Jane’s right were her husband and two children. On her left, Philip and her dad, Mike, were locked in lively conversation. She smiled at the sound of the two men getting on so well, as her dad filled Philip in on 250 years of circus history. Mike didn’t believe for a moment that he was talking to the real Philip Astley, but he could talk about the circus for hours with anyone who would listen – and he seldom met anyone who was prepared to! “Look how popular your creation remains!” Mike enthused as they joined the crowd converging on the tent. At the entrance they were met by an usher wearing a similar tunic to Philip’s. “Are you a circus man?” the usher asked. “Indeed I am.” “Which show?” “My own: Philip Astley’s!” “Good one, mate!” The usher laughed. “Enjoy the performance.” They took their seats at ringside and Jane began to doubt her reasoning behind the outing. Would taking Philip to a circus really break his delusion that he invented the entertainment – or might it deepen his belief? And how realistic was her other half-formed hope, that a confused homeless man might find refuge in a business where he thought he belonged? She wondered if he actually had any skills to offer a travelling show. The show began and Jane cast sideways glances at Philip. The lights gleamed in his eyes as he watched transfixed the clowns, tightrope walkers and trapeze artists. “What do you think of it?” she asked between acts. “No horses,” he said, sadly. “But even so…” “Instead of horses, there are bikes!” Mike beamed. They watched a quartet of Chinese girls pedal around the ring, then stand on their saddles – no hands! – the way Astley had stood on horseback centuries before. At the end of the show, the packed audience rose in a standing ovation. Philip thumbed his eyes. “I’m quite overcome. Excuse me. I need a little air.” He left his seat and Jane touched her dad’s arm. “You’d better keep an eye on him.” “Of course.” It took a while for the audience to file out. When Jane and her family emerged on the dark heath, she looked around for her dad and Philip – and saw only her dad. “Where is he?” “I’m sorry, Jane, I lost sight of him.” For the next half hour they searched inside and outside the tent until there was no one left around but the circus staff, none of whom had seen Philip. “He can’t have disappeared,” said Jane’s husband. Trembling in the chill, Jane wondered if he had – as mysteriously as he’d arrived. In the dark grass, something glinted. She picked it up: a bronze farthing. It was the last trace she ever found of the man who thought he was Philip Astley. Philip opened his eyes and blinked in the morning sun. The air stank of smoke, but there was no roar of fire – the inferno must have burnt itself out. A woman leaned over him. “Patty?” “Oh, Philip, you’re all right!” His wife’s face was streaked with tears. “I searched all night and couldn’t find you. I must have walked past this very –” He cut her off by pulling her to him and kissing her lips with a deeper gratitude than he had ever felt before. “I’m back!” His eyes soaked up the familiar buildings. He climbed to his feet. “I had the strangest dream… or was it a vision, a glimpse of a possible tomorrow?” “The amphitheatre is completely destroyed.” Patty’s eyes were empty. “Then we’ll rebuild it! Come, Patty,” he took her hand. “We have history to make.” About to lead her away, the showman paused and frowned. For a moment he thought he’d seen something on a nearby wall. A blue plaque… But no, it was a shadow. Shrugging, he put his free hand into his pocket and was surprised to find a small piece of paper.

He took it out: a ticket. On it was printed: Zippos Circus, 18.09.2024.

Woke war on Christmas! Review of Big Apple Circus, Hometown Playground

Has Christmas gone out of fashion? In London's Winter Wonderland, Zippos' seasonal show is the distinctly un-Christmassy (but distinctly classy) Candyland - read my review here. Well, I guess the venue is 'Winter' Wonderland, not Christmas Wonderland.

Over the pond, meanwhile, Big Apple Circus has also dodged the Yuletide spirit to present Hometown Playground, themed not around Santa's workshop but around the five boroughs of New York.

I can hear the splutters of outrage from the gammons on the right: "Woke war on Christmas! We're not allowed to celebrate Christmas anymore!"

These would be the same people who leave Trip Advisor comments like, "It's not a circus without animals!" Despite the fact that  - news flash! - Hometown Playground includes a poodle act. Yes, animals in the circus. How un-woke is that?? 

Personally, the canine capers of the Cartoon Poodles left me a little cold. While I've championed circus animals in the past, I feel like we closed that chapter of big top history several years ago and it's time to move on. A slick modern, all-human circus just looks better to me these days - the shows certainly look like they're doing better at the box office without all that 'cruel circus' baggage - and the inclusion of the dogs in the Big Apple tent feels like a relic from a bygone age. Especially after the resounding success of last year's all-human Big Apple show, which was provided in collaboration with Circus Theatre Roncalli - read my review here.

Maybe I'm just too woke.

But hey, the circus was woke before our grandparents were born. The big top was diverse and inclusive before anyone else was. It's always been performed by absolutely everyone for absolutely everyone, and not everyone celebrates Christmas, so why exclude them from a wintertime night out?

Personally, I'm no Scrooge. I actually put up a Christmas decoration this year (just the one, but it's on my front door, so not like I'm hiding it). But I'm not fussed about a lack of tinsel in the circus as long as it's a good show - and Big Apple has served up a (forgive me!) cracker this year.

My favourite act is Alex Petrov who does an upside down walk (pictured above). I guess he's held on by wires rather than magnetic shoes or Spider-Man powers, but he really does look like a human fly as he bounces a ball on his upside down floor, and tries to drink water - which pours down to the real floor.

Speaking of water, America's Got Talent winners the three Human Fountains make a hilarious act out of drinking water and spitting it out.

Another highlight is the slick and acrobatic three-way juggling of the Zsilak Trio Jugglers in their colourful 1960s-style costumes (below).

There are big acts on the bill, too. Antoly Huaman Brazzan is a thriller on the Wheel of Destiny (is that the new woke name for the Wheel of Death?). When he trips on his skipping rope and nearly falls from the top of the huge rotating wheel he draws gasps and screams from an audience on the edge of its seats. He then gets massive cheers when he skips not just successfully but with aplomb, leaping high into the roof of the tent as the wheel revolves.

A hot jazz soundtrack adds to Brazzan's energetic performance. It's the same sort of music they're using at Zippos this year, hot jazz clearly being in fashion if Christmas music ain't.

A Russian swing act, hurling its performers high into a sail-like safety net is similarly impressive, as is the climatic flying trapeze act by the Flying Poemas. Again, an exciting soundtrack adds, well, excitement, with the audience clapping along as the daring young men somersault between the swings.

As the show takes us around New York from Coney Island, where we find ace pick-pocket Michael Halvarson, to Harlem, where Mihret Mekonnen rides a unicycle on the slack wire, a circular gauze curtain is periodically lowered to fully enclose the stage. New York street images of road signs and neon signs are projected onto the gauze in a very pleasing visual effect.

The gauze is also used to surround aerial globe artist Sofia Petrov in the bewitching illusion of falling snow. 

Well, it wouldn't be New York at Christmas without snow - even if the snow falls without a hint of Christmas music.

Hometown Playground is at the Lincoln Centre until 5 January.

 

Zippos' Christmas Treat. Review of Candyland at Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park

Zippos' Christmas show at Winter Wonderland. I know what you're thinking. Christmas songs, Santa hats, snowballs, a giant Father Christmas...

Well, think again. Zippos did that last year, and magnificently - read my review here.

This year, the company has gifted us something completely different. Apart from a jazzed-up snatch of Jingle Bells during the slapstick tumbling routine of the Munoz Brothers, there's nothing Christmassy about Candyland. And yet, with its stage dressing of cakes, chocolate and other sweets, this colourful cabaret-style circus fits perfectly into the holiday season.

Zippos has brought Candyland to London fresh from its debut this autumn at the Roncalli Apollo Theatre in Dusseldorf, complete with original set, props and the husband and wife directing team of Ms Lina Veres and Mr Oleksandr Leshchenko, and with just a few tweaks for UK audiences, such as the familiar face of ringmaster Attila Endresz.

The European theatricality - such as a team of Ukrainian dancers in cake frocks - and an upbeat soundtrack of hot jazz and pop - with a smidgen of pumped up Carmen - gives the production a look and feel refreshingly different from any other big top show in the UK this year.

But it's not just the dressing that makes Candyland a winner. The compact 45 minute run time is full of world class acts that will thrill even seasoned circus watchers.

The opening cradle act by Argentina's Duo Plok (above) gets things off to a cracking start. In all my years of ringside reporting, I haven't seen this act before*. That in itself is a treat, when so many circuses field the same acts as one another, making it hard to tell shows apart.

The male half of the act stands, legs apart, high up on two poles. He takes the hands of his female partner, who is standing on his shoulders, then swings her between his legs, tossing her into a somersault and catching her by the ankles.

The physicality of the act is thrilling, and is perfectly complemented by the energetic music, costuming and facial expressions of the performers. They are actors, in character, as much as they are gymnasts, and their charisma draws us into the show.

Next up, the doll-like Nataliia Gurieva performs a superior aerial hoop routine while hand balancer Serhii Ivanov performs atop a podium decorated as a three-tier cake. The stands he performs on resemble candles on the cake, which adds to the cohesive look of the show.

In a similar way, an elegant low-wire routine by Anna Usakova (who was part of Zippos touring season this year) is augmented by ground-based dancers in flowing golden dresses that match hers.

A definite highlight is the juggling of Dmytro Bakhtin - a superb display of ball handling in itself, but lifted to new showbizzy heights by the novelty of him being dressed as Mozart, complete with onstage piano.

The programme is completed by aerial strap artist Daniel Lakner, the Tangier Troupe of Moroccan acrobats and the aforementioned Munoz Brothers. The latter put a neat twist on the old bucket of water gag by pretending to throw a chair into the audience - a real jump scare for those in the vicinity!

Mention must be made, though, of ringmaster Attila Endresz who adds comedy with a fresh twist on the wandering spotlight routine, ending it with the payoff of a spike through the seat of a descending swivel chair.

Endresz also leads the company in getting the audience to stand up and dance, complete with actions, which by that point, towards the end of a punchy show, everyone is more than willing to do.

It's a moment that brings real warmth and togetherness to a show that I would say is probably the best 45 minutes you'll spend in a big top this year.

Candyland runs three times a day at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00 until January 5. For bookings, click here.

*Update: I've since learned that Duo Plok's act is also variously called 'Russian cradle' or 'aerial casting'. There's also a 'full' version of the act in which the flyer is tossed between two catchers on opposite sides of the ring. Zippos apparently had such an act a few years ago, and it's definitely one I hope returns to the UK at some point.