Pros: Jaw-dropping acrobatics Cons: Turgid music and relentless po-faces sapped the energy I went to see My Land on a word-of-mouth recommendation, and I’m really glad I did. The seven performers of Hungarian company Recirquel were awe inspiring. In the opening solo a figure clad in rags floated languidly into a one-armed handstand, then tilted over to one side, his sacrum swinging like a slow-motion pendulum. The skills were consistently breath-taking: an audacious duet by acrobat twins created a beautiful ...

Big league acrobatics in a small-top tent at Southbank’s Underbelly Festival.

A humorous and entertaining display of acrobatics by skilled performers who make it look deceptively easy.  

Pros: A concept that is highly technical and inventive. The show features gorgeous live music with a multi-talented, engaging cast. Cons: There is something not quite right about the narrative pacing. Some of the acts don’t build the sense of anticipation that you expect from circus. The Roundhouse is a breath-taking venue. Being the first to arrive in the cavernous auditorium is something quite special. On this occasion, the house lights are a dull red and with the industrial scaffolding that makes up ...

Pros: You’re unlikely to see anything quite like this anywhere else. happily its uniquely irresistible Cons: Anyone looking for any kind of clear narrative or thematic structure will be left bewildered, and probably pretty disappointed Standing in the auditorium of the Royal Festival Hall, dodging the massive inflatable balls being hurled around by the audience, I began to wonder what the hell was going on. It was 9pm on a cold December evening, I was playing an elaborate game of ...

A playful celebration of family life through acrobatics and circus arts.

Sheer breathtaking variety of wonderment that cannot fail to put a smile on your face.

Pros: Arresting images and dark humour. Cons: A clown in existential crisis inevitably produces a show light on belly laughs.~ For the first half an hour I was baffled. I’ll admit that I had been expecting more of a twinkly eyed, red nosed, falling-over kind of clown. This was a challenging work with striking visual images, but some of the staging was shabby and it didn’t hang together well. Russian actor Adasinsky’s company Derevo (it means tree) made their Fringe ...

Pros: Charming, hilarious clowns, who also happen to be virtuoso musicians. Cons: The section with the projection didn’t work well, and made the energy drop. The children in the audience are part of what makes a clown show, and this performance featured the rambunctious laughter of a little boy somewhere at the back, whose timing was perfect and brought the house down twice. The five clowns of Netherlands-based Wëreldbänd reacted with ready charm; in fact, the audience was part of ...

Circus rebels without a cause strut, preen and pounce on each other in this anarchic show. Exhilarating to watch, but the pace is uneven, and they seemed to lose the audience at times.