In a packed Palais du Variété at Assembly George Square Gardens, the Australian based ‘Showman Productions’ presented “Circus The Show”.

The production began with a quirky, cheeky clown keeping us entertained and providing some light comic relief throughout. The acts then come thick & fast in this whirlwind of a show. Notable highlights include an amazing juggler who seemed to defy the laws of gravity with his incredible skills; a magician who, with the help of a younger audience member, managed to demonstrate the art of levitation lifting our unsuspecting youngster into the the air and, arguably most impressively, one of the best Diablo artists I have ever seen showcasing an astounding display of skills (even at one point in the dark!).

From the marketing material provided, I was expecting to see “a completely re-imagined family circus spectacular”, but for me this simply seemed to follow the standard traditional format with a ringmaster compère.

Sadly the ringmaster, while ably linking the various acts, seemed to drag the pace downwards somewhat with long periods of dialogue which was certainly lost on the younger audiences. A message he tried to deliver about ‘being who you want to be’ was approached in the completely wrong way and the moral missed.

Whilst being a fun afternoon, this show disappointingly didn’t hit the spot, especially with so many other circus and acrobatic shows at this years Fringe.

⭐️⭐️⭐️