Royal Festival Hall, LondonIn a culture saturated with special effects it is the moments of connection, creativity and wonder that matterCircus 1903 – in picturesPlaying its second year as an alternative Christmas offering, Circus 1903 offers an escape to the golden age of the travelling circus. With old-school charm and thrills, it’s like The Greatest Showman minus the pop songs, although the soundtrack here is just as fundamental. Evan Jolly’s score sews together a dozen disparate routines with its grandiose, button-pushing drama cueing every ooh and ahh.David Williamson is the avuncular ringmaster and occasionally slightly inappropriate uncle ho sets about gently ribbing the kids who come up on stage to be stooges in routines mixing groan-worthy comedy, magic and nostalgic sentimentality.Skill abounds across the cast, even if not every act wows, and they are all eclipsed by the elephants – life-sized puppets full of grace and character. Still, the humans bring surprises too. When it said in the programme there’d be foot juggling, I assumed they’d be juggling objects, but actually it’s people: one man tossed in circles by the toes of another. Continue reading…
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Categories: English News