A thrilling night of circus skills packaged as incoherent house party nostalgia.Rating
Good
An immersive house party experience with outstanding circus skills and stunts mere metres away from your seat? Sounds great. However, at Sophie’s Surprise Party the whole night is only very loosely held together by the music, clothing and most unfortunately, attitudes of the 90’s and 00’s.
This night is a tale of two distinct aspects; the incredible technical performances are set against a weak backdrop of lazy stereotypes, thin transitions between acts and a general lack of coherence about how it all hangs together – huge biceps aside.
There is spectacular aerial work, displays of strength, precision, fire-work, rollerskating and even diablo if you remember those. As an evening of performance it is excellent, but these incredible heights are severely hampered by pass-the-parcel, Sports Direct mug props, Twilight fan fiction readings and an Ugly Duckling-style reveal that the mousy, bespectacled, bejumpered character is in fact a stunning blonde aerialist. Leave your feminism at the door.
The night does not lack a unifying theme, but it clunks from one moment to the next. It feels as though it could do with an MC to entertain, interact with and guide the audience through the mayhem. What about a Host for this surprise party? Without one, the acts who are primarily trained to execute daring tricks, not one-liners, are left to create a sense of story in the few seconds before they perform.
The general conceit for the surprise party is that they pull someone out of the audience to be the titular ‘Sophie’ for the night. Occasionally she is asked a question or is brought back on stage for the finale. She is even the arbiter for a Weakest Link-style decision between which of two male performers a female performer “will go home with”: a cringeworthy idea, made slightly more fun in the moment as she asks if one of the males can take his top off before she makes a decision. There were few of these spontaneous moments though, on what is otherwise made out to be a special and unique night. Instead, all the parts that are not set-piece performances are awkwardly wooden and stiffly scripted interludes.
It’s clear to see what they are trying to do, and perhaps the production’s success pivots on the resonance of the nostalgic references. But when you have a comparable show like Sabrage at Lafayette in Kings Cross there is no competition. Sabrage has two hosts with skills of their own who seemingly curate a night of Moulin Rouge-esque erotic dancers, acrobats and circus performers all within a unifying cabaret-style setting. It oozes class and opulence while still being a high-energy party. They are actually incredibly similar in terms of the types of performances: Sophie’s is just a (not so) cheap night at a dated house party by comparison.
Created and produced by Katharine Arnold, Isis Clegg-Vinell and Nathan Price for Three Legged Race Productions
Co-produced by Underbelly
Sophie’s Surprise Party runs at Underbelly Boulevard until Saturday 10 October 2026
