Ordinary Gweilo

Yesterday we went to the circus – the Great Moscow Circus in Wan Chai.

I haven’t been to the circus since I was a child (quite a long time ago). Billy Smart’s Circus used to come to Clapham Common every year, usually just before Christmas, and a trip there was quite an exciting event.

This was in the days when circuses in the UK were still allowed to have performing animals, and I think they had elephants, monkeys, horses and possibly tigers. There were also clowns, juggling, high wire walking, trapeze, and probably more besides. My memories are of it being cold outside, the big top, and the smell of the place (straw and animals, I guess).

So how did this circus compare. Well, for one thing, Southorn Playground isn’t Clapham Common, which doesn’t help. In fact the whole thing seemed quite sterile, with no discernible smell or even much of a circus atmosphere. Also, the ‘big top’ was smaller than I expected (but that may just be my memory playing tricks). In fact, the Great Moscow Circus seemed to me to be more like a cross between cabaret and a traditional circus.

The performance seemed polished and professional, with very loud music played almost continuously to keep things moving along. There were two large-scale illusions, but both basically the same – person is locked in a cage, which is then covered with a large blanket, then when the cover is removed the person has disappeared and there is a large tiger in the cage instead.

As well as the illusions, they brought on the dancing girls at various points in the performance, perhaps to keep the fathers in the audience from falling asleep.

There were also plenty of traditional circus acts – a strong man, clowns, juggling, and a man balancing a large stack of glasses (just as exciting as it sounds), and some dogs playing football with balloons. There was a horse that could sit down and roll over, and – well, you know the sort of thing.

Perhaps the most impressive act was the final one, the flying trapeze. This makes me more convinced that the big top was much smaller than the circus I remember as a child, because we seemed to be much closer to the action. It looked very dangerous, but obviously they practice for a long time in order to ensure that it goes smoothly, which indeed it did. My son had his hands over his eyes during this act!

Younger children will certainly enjoy the circus, even if adults like myself are a bit cynical. It’s a professional performance and there’s plenty happening throughout the two hours to keep you amused.

Big disappointment for me was that the clowns weren’t very funny, and didn’t drive around the ring in an exploding car. That was always the best part of Billy Smarts circus.