ROLL up, roll up, the Moscow State Circus is in town until Thursday and promises a stunning show suitable for the whole family.
The circus opened its Isle of Man leg of the Legenda tour at The Gaiety Theatre in Douglas last night (Tuesday).
Bringing together a cast of Russia's most talented circus performers the Legenda tour will help you "escape to an exciting world of skills and feats which have not been falsely generated by electronic gadgets," according to managing director Brian Austen.
The show combines contemporary and classical performances with more than 20 different acrobatic, dance, contortion and slapstick comedy acts.
Highlights of the show include the High Flying Grigory's Girls who make being suspended 30 feet above the ground on a piece of silk, by just an ankle or wrist, look easy.
The Statues, duo Alexander and Yulia, are also phenomenal and create positions you wouldn't believe humanly possible. Appearing as if they have no bones in their body the pair contort into numerous positions including one where Yulia is balanced upside down, as if doing a headstand, supported only by the back of Alexander's neck.
Alexander and Yulia also perform the In Balance act where the pair take elements of their earlier statue act and effortlessly combine it with wires so that they are contorting in the air. Again the strength and agility of these performers shines through in a stunningly beautiful performance.
The Moscow State Circus has retained traditional elements including jugglers and The Clowns, a husband and wife team, who have their slapstick comedy routine down to a tee.
Appearing at numerous points during the two hour show The Clowns perform skilled balance work on the trapeze wire with clown Valerik managing to go to sleep, get dressed and juggle hoops while balancing on the thin piece of wire and a dangerous but funny act involving jumping through a hoop embedded with knives.
The Clown's sidekick Professor Bulkalov is also particularly funny with his act involving a trampoline which sees him bounce and somersault across the stage, down ladders, off and on to jumping boards and even at one point over the stage and into an audience members lap.
A phenomenally clever illusion act at the end of the show see's the performers swap locations with co-stars within the blink of an eye, go through numerous outfit changes and levitate before disappearing from the stage only to reappear at the back of the theatre.
A small word of caution, running through the performance is a back story of the Russian folklore figure Rasputin – "a man who dared to dream of a different life". This story is rather hard to follow, partly due to the heavy accent of the narrator and some may find this detracts somewhat from the acts themselves.
Overall the Moscow State Circus is a fun show that the whole family will enjoy - but you can't help but feel that it would have even more of a wow factor if it was on in the traditional big top tent.
Tickets for the Moscow State Circus cost £22.50 with concessions available. There are two performances each night at 5pm and 8pm. For more information and to buy tickets call the Box Office on 01624 600555 or log on to www.villagaiety.com.
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