Then I bumped into a couple of other members at interval time who told me how good the show was, so I ventured in for Act II...
...and I was hooked from the moment it started. The entr'acte, if you like, was a fairly straightforward dance number called, erm, Bravadeo. It then moved into a section called Kaatoosh (!), where the stage was filled with jugglers, artistic gymnasts, ballet dancers and more all doing their thing to the fascinating music. Then came Spheres with the German Wheel, which remains one of my favourite acts to this day - a perfect demonstration of how humans can use the laws of Physics to create something quite remarkable. More acts with strange names followed - trampolinists surrounded by a wall of fire, more aerial work, contortionists, ballet and the wonderful, titular song where it blew a gale and started to snow in the auditorium. So much about this show belied the seaside resort location - true West End quality, meticulous attention to detail, music that I still listen to to this day, with superb vocals by Ian Meeson (who, I later found out, I had seen in Starlight Express at the Apollo Victoria and who had mentored members of the original cast of The Book of Mormon -small world, and all that!). I just wish I could find a lyric sheet for the songs. Needless to say, every trip I made to Blackpool afterwards just had to include at least one visit to Eclipse.
This show had introduced me to the fascinating sport of artistic gymnastics and I always like to watch Team GB when they are competing, albeit in true couch-potato fashion. I just wish the German Wheel was a bigger part of the UK gymnastics scene. Here's a couple of up-and-coming Wheel Gymnasts performing straight-line (Luca Christ) and spiral (Jack Gomberg) - now, set this to music with atmospheric lighting and add the risk factor of performing this on a raised, circular platform! It's great to see gymnastics getting so much more attention these days - London 2012 and the more recent Commonwealth Games really got this sport in everyone's focus, and Team GB demonstrated nicely how music and gymnastics can mix on the TV show "Tumble". Cirque du Soleil awaits, guys! It was also great to see Acrobatic Gymnastics winning Britain's Got Talent back in 2010 with Spelbound.
Now we have the Udderbelly Festival on the South Bank - a celebration of circus and cabaret - and that's where I'm writing this blog. A very pleasant venue, with plenty of shaded outdoor seating and good beer, and a huge purple cow, named Violet, inside whom are featured some incredible circus acts in the most stripped-back and up-close presentations ever. This afternoon, I'm watching (again) a performance called "A Simple Space" by the Australian troupe Gravity and Other Myths. The performance consists of, among other things, a series of competitions between the members of the troupe, such as who can do the most backflips and who can skip the fastest (which ends up as a strip-skipping competiton but all done in the best possible taste - this really is a show for the whole family). The audience participation is great fun too - especially the game of Human Skittles, but you really must see the show for yourselves.
Later on in the season, two other circus-related acts will be appearing in shows called "Beta Testing" and "Bromance". The latter includes the Cyr Wheel - a single-hoop version of the German Wheel. Can't wait to see how it compares to that first performance of Eclipse that I saw all those years ago...
If you're in Blackpool this summer, treat yourself to Amanda's Hot Ice Show - "Desire" at the Pleasure Beach, which is certain to be another breathtaking show, and while in London, head to the Udderbelly Festival, which has shows for all ages!
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| Me, a balloon animal and a rather bemused Daniel Liddiard of @GOM_Circus |
Post script: A Simple Space by Gravity and Other Myths was brilliant once again, and I ended up with one of the balloon animals from the "make a balloon animal behind your back" competition (thanks, Simon ;-)
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