Programme
This show follows a very similar format to the Chinese State Circus "Mulan" show which is also currently touring. The similarity is not, perhaps, surprising given that both shows are presented by the same Entertainment Corporation. But actually this show is rather better. Technically the acts are not particularly any better (other than the clowns who are rather funnier and certainly far more interesting) but there is more of a sense of fun and adventure pervading the whole performance which really draws in the audience.
Husband and wife team Valerik and Valik perform a traditional clown act of the childlike Valik being playfully oppressed by partner Valerik in the course of performing some excellent circus routines including getting dressed whilst balancing on a slack wire, tap dancing on a bench and climbing up and over an unsupported ladder. Russian soldiers march on stage to arrest our narrator, Rasputin, then doff their greatcoats to launch into a dazzling juggling routine, the two men and one woman circling each other and criss-crossing the stage as the clubs fly ceaselessly between them. A male/female balancing act deliver a very impressive performance of strength, endurance and perfect equilibrium, at one point the female balanced inverted, her shoulders laid across his, and no arms outstreched. Two gorgeous girls fly above the stage entwining themselves on silks - a fairly familiar act perhaps, but never-the-less among the best of its type. A crossbow act introduces a real wow factor with some amazing feats of trick shooting - the centrepiece of the routine coming when the male marksmen assembles five loaded crossbows into a rig and fires all five bolts simultaneously, striking all around his female assistant. In another act, two men lay back on benches spinning two very young looking girls sitting on their feet and tossing the girls between them in ever more imaginative ways. Another outstnading act was the Russian bar, two solidly built men throwing their younger compatriots, one boy one girl, high in the air by means of a flexible beam and catching them again with perfect precision. The final act involves a magician and his assistant, she changing outfits in the twinkling of an eye. The act culminates when they seemingly transform into each other in the split second it takes for a silken sheet to fall.
Overall, the show is not faultless. The Rasputin theme, for example, is not the best concept around which to base the show. But the acts, whether old or new, are highly entertaining and even at the relatively short running time make for a show which is excellent value for money.
Fast paced, colourful and inventive. A highly enjoyable circus spectacular.
Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net
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