Come one, come all to Cirque Berserk // Review

*We were gifted tickets to attend the performance*

On Tuesday evening, Olly and I were invited to see Cirque Berserk at the Birmingham Rep theatre on the opening night of their 2020 UK tour. It was a half-term treat for Olly who has never been to the circus so we had no idea what to expect and we couldn’t wait to see the show.

Cirque Berserk, real circus made for theatre

Cirque Berserk is said to be a real circus made for theatre and as we walked into the theatre to take our seats, we were intrigued to see a huge metal sphere taking centre stage. We didn’t know but the Globe of Death (the metal sphere) was going to be a show stopper and have us on the edge of our seats throughout the show.

As the show began, we were treated to various acts from the most talented and skilled performers. Each had their own way of bringing excitement and intrigue to the stage and had the audience in absolute amazement. The highly choreographed performances were fantastic to watch and had us wondering how they could perform such acts without hurting themselves or others. It was an epic show of talent and one that we immensely enjoyed.

Such an array of incredible talent

To name just a few, we watched on as the Timbuktu Tumblers threw themselves through hoops. They made pyramids out of each other and limboed under poles of fire. All with ease and execution. We saw Elberel, the flexible Mongolian archer, shoot an arrow with her foot whilst doing a handstand. Gasped in awe of the Czech knife thrower who threw knives and axes at his wife Nikole. Watched on in amazement as we enjoyed the Aerial Hoop performers dance around a hoop in mid-air without any safety harness on at all.

Watch in awe of the Globe of Death

By far, our favourite act of Cirque Berserk was the Globe of Death. Although I’m pretty sure I didn’t breathe throughout their performance as it was frankly incredible. Imagine a motorbike racing around the Globe of Death reaching speeds of up to 60 mph. Then add into the mix, another four motorbikes! The Lucius Team had the audience on the edge of their seats. It was awesome to watch. My 7 year old was completely amazed and told me it was “absolutely epic”!

A comedian the audience loved

The show is all tied together with performances from Paulo Dos Santos, the petite comedian who thrills the audience with his charm and talent. Towards the end of the show, Paulo stuns the audience by taking to the rings and flies through the air with incredible acrobatic skill. He was brilliant to watch.

The show, which lasted 1hr 50m with a 15 minute interval, was absolutely incredible. Throughout the whole performance, we were excited to watch more to see what was coming next. Cirque Berserk is on in Birmingham until 23rd February and then tours around the UK. With shows in Exeter, Edinburgh, Southampton, Wycombe, Lincoln, Cambridge, Nottingham, Inverness and Bromley.

To find out more and snap up your tickets to the Cirque Berserk show, head to their website http://www.cirqueberserk.co.uk/.