Hugh Jackman fans take note: he doesn’t make an appearance, even in computer-generated form, in this big top homage to the film that took the world by storm in 2017. Nor is it a musical theatre spin-off of the kind that keeps the West End ticking over at the moment. (A full stage adaptation is still in the works.)
What you get instead is a dynamic string of circus acts accompanied by anthemic songs from the film’s score. Blink and you’ll miss the storyline, yet this remains an engaging, high-energy exercise in family entertainment, which, in a 700-seat venue adjacent to the remains of the now demolished Earls Court Exhibition Centre, feels strikingly intimate. Sit close enough to the front and you may get a fist bump from one of the performers; when the fire-eaters strut their stuff, the heat may make your cheeks glow.
One obvious point of comparison is the ever-popular Cirque du Soleil, which takes up residence every winter at the Royal Albert Hall. I haven’t seen that troupe’s last few shows, but I’ve always found their routines, sprinkled with New Age fairy dust, a tad anodyne. This show, created and directed by Simon Hammerstein (grandson of Oscar), is more old school, even if there’s not a whiff of sawdust.
Simon Bailey’s Showman and the newcomer Aaliya Mai’s Max are the central figures in a skeletal narrative that finds the wide-eyed youngster initiated into the wonders of the life of a circus performer.
Highlights include Antino Pansa’s remarkably nimble soft wire display and an exuberant troupe of see-sawing acrobats who almost came a cropper in the preview that I saw. A polished band pumps away on a gallery (Matthew Brind, who turned in sterling work on the Live Aid musical, Just for One Day, is the music producer). Even when it’s not always easy to see the connection between the film’s songs and the live action, vocalists including the soulful Jaz Ellington stoke the spectacle.
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In the stylish galleries outside the arena, you can have pre-show immersive fun, mingling with performers and admiring the gypsy caravans. As with the revived version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express, which sits in the shadow of Wembley Stadium, this is a similarly priced venture tucked away in unglamorous surroundings. If I had young children, the big top would get my vote.
★★★★☆
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