Le Cirque Invisible, Southbank Centre

This summer the enchanting duo Jean-Baptiste Thierree and Victoria Chaplin returned to Southbank Centre with their wildly unique show, ‘Le Cirque Invisible’. The pair have been dazzling audiences with their creations for over 30 years and perform with a passion and enthusiasm that is quite breathtaking. Skipping through the dreariest London rain with my little sister, the brightly lit Queen Elizabeth Hall was a welcome refuge.

The production is advertised as a family show and I felt the balance had been perfected to appeal to all ages without patronising or boring any age group. Husband and wife, Jean-Baptiste and Victoria present a bizarre and amusing circus show that with very little narrative or dialogue and so must succeed purely on their talents and communication with the audience. On the whole the show works, though there were moments when the joke was so primitive and eccentric that my sister and I exchanged confused glances.

Everything is presented in a beautifully poetic way... Jean-Baptiste is the wacky joker, magician and actor, while Victoria Chaplin (incidentally Charlie Chaplin’s daughter) is an elusive dancer, acrobat and musician using simple props to remarkably transform herself into animals and dressing entirely in pots, pans and glasses playing a mesmerising tune. It is a tour de force, with these two performers frantically performing the whole show alone, except for a few rabbits and birds who arrive on stage for their camio roles, including a hilarious gaggle of geese singing in unison along with the music.

The costumes and visuals were sensational, with endless magnificent costumes and stunning lighting design. I was impressed with the extent of their imagination, with the simplest ideas amusing some audience members so much they seemed unable to stop laughing. My sister and I certainly left giggling.

Le Cirque Invisible is a whimsical spectacle that I believe will charm any audience.

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park

I’d never heard about the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park before, but now I work so close by it’s difficult to miss. The colourful Christmas fair takes up a massive area of the park, with an ice rink, flashing fairground rides, food and drink tents, gift stalls and even a Zippo’s Circus. I must admit that I was deceived into thinking that its gigantic Ferris wheel was in fact the London Eye.

Desperate for some winter ice-skating I tried to book tickets for Somerset House’s idyllic rink, unfortunately they were fully booked, and so Winter Wonderland seemed like the next best option. Hyde Park has never been busier, the hoards of tourists all eager to be part of the action. It costs nothing to enter, but anything bought inside costs a small fortune.

I was hoping the whole place would be more romantic, like the real German markets. We walked round, stopped and listened to the German singing reindeer, and smelled the various pungent pretzel, churros and hot chocolate stands, and walked past many tempting Mulled wine stands. Unfortunately the snow had rather dampened the mood, and walking through muddy sludge made me too cold to concentrate properly. We eventually reached the ice rink, which was much further than I had expected. I pathetically decided I was actually too cold to skate and so we just watched for a while instead.

There are hundreds of stalls, each begging for your custom. I was almost persuaded by a few of the jewellery stands before realising their goods were a bit tacky. The poor stall holders looked fed up and bored, and they must be freezing outside all day in these conditions. After a while I began to feel a little disillusioned by all the lights and noises and decided it was time to go home. Winter Wonderland is a great idea, and must be fun for kids, but it made me realise how much better markets work in summer when it is light enough and warm enough to actually enjoy the occasion.

La Soiree at Southbank Big Top

La Soiree is a fusion show of all things fun and fabulous from cabaret to circus, burlesque to vaudeville; it's got it all. The performance takes place at the Southbank Big Top, a huge mystical coloured tent, located just behind the National Theatre.

The show rotates a number of artists, all unique in their special talents. Many of the performers have come straight from award-winning show La Clique. La Soiree is held together by a few key performers: Scandinavian contortionist Captain Frodo, ‘Bath Boy’ David O’Mer, tumbling duo The English Gents and cabaret chanteuse Miss Behave. Each act has its own little quirks, and fine detailing that has been perfected for the short sketches.

Hamish McCann's Gene Kelly-inspired pole-dance routine was particularly memorable. He grips onto a lamppost, and magically holds his body horizontal as he walks through the air. The ease with which he perform is quite astounding considering the physical feat. I loved Captain Frodo, I couldn’t tell exactly how much of his act is genuinely him and how much is his alter-ego character, either way it works, and he immediately has the audience captivated. Twisting his body and comically narrating his act as he goes.

The venue is enchanting, warm with a waft of freshly made popcorn in the air. La Soiree certainly considers the audience's total experience. I didn’t find everything funny, and think there is perhaps a little too much clowning around, the acrobatics and tricks are so impressive I would like to see more of that area.

The best thing about it is every night of La Soiree is different so you can go again and again.

TRACES at The Peacock Theatre

Traces is certainly a show with a twist. It was first seen in the UK in 2007 at the Edinburgh Fringe, and is now making an impact on London audiences at Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre. This is a thrilling circus type show from Canadian company Les 7 Doigts de la Main.

Interestingly a number of art forms are combined – while one performer dances, another draws on a projector screen and a third accompanies on the piano. The energy is buoyed by the atmospheric music (very well chosen I thought) and the immaculately timed fast lighting changes. I found the narrative a little disorientating; it is set in a makeshift urban warehouse with five characters living out what they believe could be their final days. This confusion only intensified my experience. The players tell stories about their pasts, touchingly sharing with us their personal strengths and weaknesses.

The urgency and precision of the show is attention grabbing from start to finish. The five performers excel, leaping across the stage with confidence and gusto. The acrobatic skills of the young cast (Antoine Carabinier Lepine, Antoine Auger, Genevieve Morin, Philip Rosenberg and Jonathan Casaubon) are alone enough to bring in a large audience.

Traces has both solo showcases and ensemble pieces, held together with speech and musical numbers. They incorporate a wide variety of circus skills within the show; of these the German wheel and the Chinese poles were my favourite, although there is a real wow-factor from the teeterboard act, where a seesaw-like jumping board is used to hurl one performer high into the air.

This is an awe inspiring show that reminded me of the great Cirque de Soleil.

Traces continues at The Peacock Theatre in Holborn until 30 October 2010.

Splish Splash!

Last night I ventured to the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith to see 'Soap - The Show'. We were warned that during the performance we may get wet but aside from that information I had no idea what to expect. We opted to sit a few rows back ( I was wearing my favourite PPQ silk shirt - and was not keen on getting it soaked!)

The show was half cabaret, half circus, but on a smaller more eccentric scale than most, with the theme of bathtubs and water joining all the acts and ideas together. The style of production felt similar to cirque du soleil, but primarily advertises itself as a Cabaret show. The superb direction came from Markus Pabst, who directed La Clique, a similar extravaganza that won critical acclaim at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006. The cast of eight took it in turns to display their talents, sometimes working together, sometimes as soloists.

Patricia Holtzmann took centre stage for regular musical interludes, adapting some of the great classics (Mozart, Handel and even Rimsky-Korsakov) to the words of Bobby Darin's 'Splish Splash' - a song that cropped up throughout the show. I found some of her singing slightly unnerving and occasionally flat, possibly because her talent seemed unimpressive next to the acrobatics. There were six acrobatic acts - each performer has a different skill, the most exciting performances for me came from Francois Gravel with Dance Trapeze and Michael Lanphear with Straps. Both men drew audible gasps from the audience as they swung and threw themselves across the stage, often performing in water, always acting around the white bathtubs positioned on the stage. The theatre space is pretty snug at Riverside, and unfortunately I was sitting next to a very enthusiastic clapper, who felt the need to clap (very loudly), every 5-10 seconds, it was mildly distracting.

Nata Galkina (an antipode - foot juggler) also gave an awe-inspiring performance. Her astonishing talent is a rare art, and was definitely something I had never seen before. Her legs emerged from a bathtub, but her body was entirely hidden, and as she juggled and balanced more and more objects the experience became increasingly surreal. Like any circus, there was, of course the comedy factor. Marie-Andree Lemaire was a lovable clown figure. Usually I find the clowns quite irritating but I allowed myself to enjoy some of Lemaire's material.

Much of 'Soap' was non-sensical, but in the best way. It was quite unlike anything I have ever encountered before and was a unique and exciting production. The show caters for all ages and all interests. It is on until April 25th, tickets £20/£25.

WATCH 'SOAP' TRAILER HERE:

http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/cgi-bin/page.pl?l=1264697914