advert: we were sent tickets to see Cirque Berserk
If you’re looking for some last-minute Summer family entertainment head for the Cirque Berserk show in Brighton (dates also available in Southend).
It’s a mix of theatrical performance and classic circus acts all centered around the headline act – the Lucius Team and their metal ‘Globe of Death’ – who are supported by an international mix of over 30 jugglers, acrobats, aerialists, dancers, drummers and daredevil stuntmen.
The show is originally designed for theatres but the Brighton performance has been adapted to work in the classic Zippo Circus tent and it works beautifully, creating a friendly, close intimate space so that even those up in the high seats get a great view.
We saw the show yesterday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it with everyone having a different favourite. One of my favourite acts was the Rio based Four Hands and Two Wheels; an acrobatic act of strength and trust between wheelchair-bound Rafael Ferria and Alan Pagnota.
The girls all loved the grace and skills of UK aerial acrobat Jackie as she flew around the circus ring and they were very impressed by the French foot juggling Germaine who threw and caught balls, rings, cubes and tubes with her feet!
Comedy is provided by the small yet utterly talented Paulo Ds Santos who makes everything he does look effortlessly easy and surprised all of us at the end with some acrobatic skills we weren’t expecting!
And then, of course, there’s The Lucius team and their Globe Of Death. I’ve seen them before many years ago and was impressed then at the skills required to manoeuvre four motorbikes in such a small space but this year they pushed it even further and added a fifth motorbike! This act is really quite special and the trust and skills required to have so many motorbikes in such a tiny space it truly jawdropping.
We had a chance to speak to catch up with Lucius and his gang after the show. It was fascinating talking to him about the guys and how he pulled his team together. When he first started out there was no one else doing this kind of motorbike act so there were no rules to follow… he had to find out what was, and wasn’t possible the hard way! It takes a long time to become skilled enough to join the team in a performance. And the first thing a new recruit has to do is to learn to cope with the dizziness!
It’s an exciting and fun show to watch that flows seamlessly from act to act using a mix of comedy and dance to bridge each performance. Add to that the ability to buy enormous cartons of scrummy popcorn and candy floss plus the option to have your photo taken with The Lucius Team and you have a great trip out for all the family.
The production will play under the Big Top on Hove Lawns BN3 2WW from Tuesday 27 August to Tuesday 3 September 2019.
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