Moscow State Circus is a still widely acclaimed staple of the Brighton Festival Fringe.
The bright yellow Big Top at Preston Park had people queuing for more than 30 minutes on its opening night on Thursday.
The performance is based around the story of Rasputin. But the pre-recorded narration, which sounded like it was being spoken by a robotic game show host, clashed with the very idea of a live, “anything can happen”, performance intended to bring an important piece of Russian culture to life.
Nonetheless, there were impressive feats of human skill spanning traditional and contemporary circus.
Compared with some of the modern troupes in the Central and Southern Americas, and even here in the UK, it seems very old fashioned with its Torvill and Dean “nude” leotards and Abba-like soundtrack, but what you are actually seeing is still unique.
The sky wheel genuinely left the audience screaming and probably still mystified as to whether it could have all gone wrong at any moment or was just choreographed to perfection.
The aerial and trapeze routines are some of the best in the world and the double swing that throws acrobats to the top of the tent results in “Don’t do it” gasps that make two hours fly by.
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