Kwame, a contortionist and acrobat from Ghana, performs at the all-human Netherlands National Circus, which is in Preston Park, Brighton, as part of the Fringe Festival.
He performs as part of the Warrior Kings acrobatic group which have a fast-moving show.
Always pushing the limits of his act, Kwame tried a new move yesterday which involved curling himself backwards around his own spine.
He managed to place first one foot and then the other foot on his own shoulders and received a round of applause from his peers before realising he was stuck.
Locked solid and increasingly uncomfortable, he wriggled and tried to twist out of his double-bend, but his joints stayed firmly in place.
Anthony Hall, from Netherlands National Circus, said: “He actually got rather stuck and tangled. It’s a funny but unusual story and we hope he’ll be OK to perform later.”
Colleagues called in Brighton osteopath Matthew Bennett, who has been helping other performers from the circus with the aches and pains caused by their work.
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