High above the stage on a silken rope, we see the astonishing aerialist Agnes Blazejczyk turning through 360 degrees, effortlessly creating shapes, upside down, round, and round making turns and doing the splits. These are feats difficult enough done on the ground.
Circus Enchante’s Christmas Show is a mixture of japes and jokes and a sparkling selection box of extremely slick circus skills. You believe that a woman can fly.
At one point, Clown Toffy in a tuxedo, wearing glittering silver stilettos, walks across some wobbly champagne bottles. No one could ever say, this show doesn’t have balance.
Breath-taking acrobatics, deft feats of balance and some exquisite singing make up the Christmas show from Circus Enchante. Called A Winter Circus Fairytale, the music, clowning and these amazing turns on a rope high above the stage kept a packed family audience at Cambridge Junction on the edge of their seats.
Clown Toffy got the youngsters in the audience on side from the very start of the show by holding out his arms, lifting and lowering them to raise and lower the applause. Soon the audience sounds as if they are a speaker being turned up and down, on and off – or a fader at a radio station. The audience is delighted with itself.
Then the glittering Ice Queen, the beautifully voiced Emily Perzan, (also the writer and director) starts the story of the Snow Queen with some great singing and then the finely dressed creature, adorned head to foot in silver glitter – and looking far too glamourous to be a baddie, steals the ice crystals that will later turn into snow.
Now the rest of the characters must convince the frosty queen to bring back the proper weather for Christmas.
Meanwhile, the stunning turns continue. Acrobat Poppy Plowman, suspended by a fixture on her hair – dances in mid-air.
There is a lot of audience participation (the Queen gets her boos and hisses) and the humour is visual. This is a most spectacular so it’s suitable even for very young children and skilled enough to dazzle the rest of us too.
The show sold out both days at Cambridge Junction on the last weekend before Christmas. Some people who had already seen it twice in London, bought tickets for both Cambridge shows too.
This is a dazzling piece of theatre. It creates a buzz.
Circus Enchante is indeed enchanting.
CREDITS
Circus Enchante’s Christmas Show is a mixture of japes and jokes and a sparkling selection box of extremely slick circus skills. The photographer is Pablura Herrera.
Show credits are:
Directed & written by: Emily Perzan
Rehearsal Director: Poppy Plowman
Choreography: Emily Perzan
Produced by: Jared Shanks, Rika Fujimoto & Toffy Paulweber
Performers:
Agnes Blazejczyk (Aerial Silks & Net)
Ben Kaufman (Hulahoops, Handstands)
Emily Perzan (Singer)
Jared Shanks (Partner Acrobatics & Juggling)
Nora Ireland (Aerial Straps & Flute)
Rika Fujimoto (Clowning)
Toffy Paulweber (Bottle Walking & Partner Acrobatics)
