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.

 

Olympic gold-winner joins Cirque du Soleil

British trampolinist Bryony Page, who won gold at the Paris Olympics has bounced into a new career by joining Cirque du Soleil.

"I love the idea of performing in the show and using trampoline in a different way," said the Poole-based 33-year-old who hopes to be on tour with Soleil next year.

Page will be following in the footsteps of British gymnast Lucie Colebeck whose story I told here.

 

Ghosts of Circus Past by Tina Glam and the Glam Rockers

A new hard rocking version of a song about the ghosts, real and metaphorical, that haunt the big top.

 

Do not try this at home!