Lots of fun on the South Bank for La Soirée in the Speigeltent, part of the winter festival next to Hungerford bridge. Just to list acrobats, burlesque, magic, melodrama, pole acrobatics, clowning and bubble blowing doesn't do this show justice. Nor does a single photo. The company quickly won over even the knowing London audience (the cabaret atmosphere with the bar open during the show clearly helped).
The guy pulled from the crowd to be the stooge for one of Mooky Cornish's acts gave his occupation as “Project Manager” and the audience booed good-humouredly without hesitation or prompting! He did brilliantly, reading his lines from her costume and miming along to Midnight.
La Soirée has already won an Olivier award but the company changes from night to night. We were fortunate to see the main artistes for this revival: four fantastic male acrobatic acts each brilliant in their own territory, floor, pole or rope, that’s Denis Lock and Hamish McCann performing together as “The English Gents” plus doing solo acts, Bret Pfister gave us two high strength acrobatic ballet performances. Miss Frisky singing cabaret solo, commanding the audience and giving depth to pace the evening.
Captain Frodo, a double jointed bendy man from Norway who fitted his body through a twelve-inch tennis racket and then a ten-inch racket. Yammel Rodriguez’s cool acrobatic dancing and smoke show, Melanie Chy hand balancing on a big motorbike which she had ridden in to the ring. And Clarke McFarlane as “Mario of the Circus” bringing Freddie Mercury back to life and into the circus ring with some up to the minute satire and innuendo as well as crowd-surfing the entire ringside audience... Asher Treleaven's melodrama really had the audience cringing in good ole sexual patter and innuendo humour.
Good value on show duration and the tent was pleasantly warm despite the autumn chill outside. Music loud. Ticket price includes glossy souvenir programme.
Tip: seating is unreserved, arrive early and claim seats if possible on the side of the ring nearest the bar for the best sightlines.