A Small Mind At The Theatre

I have seen three previous circus performances over the last few years, following a gap of over thirty years, and Cirque Berserk was one of them, and their return two years later to Derngate is often remarkably similar to their previous show, but never less than remarkable in itself. The concluding act, the motorcyclists of the Globe of Death I have now seen four times, and while I have now become blasé about it, I can still revel in the delight of others seeing it for the first time, including my companion of the night, who often thought the whole evening was full of crazy. It is true really though that you must have to be more than a little crazy to be a circus performer and do some of these outlandish acts we witness. However, big them up and applaud all the crazy people, because through them, a really diverse audience (the most this side of a panto pretty much), was thrilled to beginning to end. Cirque Berzerk covers most things you can think of from a modern circus, from...

Last October I was invited to go to see a circus by a friend, it was the first that I had seen since I was a kid. It was quite a revelation, and a fantastic afternoon of entertainment. They had moved on quite a bit of course, many of the stunts were more outlandish than that distant time and the dying embers of animals that had still just been present back then were gone. However in essence, the world of the traditional circus remained with the ringmaster, jugglers and the clown. Therefore when booking to see Cirque Berserk! at the Royal & Derngate, I perhaps knew what to expect this time, but also maybe initially concerned that the acts might be a bit samey. However it was far from more of the same in reality, with the exception of the jugglers and clowning (all different performers), the only totally identical act on display was the showstopping Globe of Death . Cirque Berserk! is sold with the tagline "Real circus made for theatre" and having now seen both versi...