Moments of magic, slightly lacking in cohesion.

Cirque Berserk! are celebrating their tenth anniversary year with a residency at Riverside Studios, and their show certainly entertains. From the moment the audience are told to keep their mobile phones switched on (I know! At the theatre!), the stage is set for a plethora of acts from the thrilling to the funny to the incredibly impressive. It’s fun, but there’s something missing.

The acts are undeniably talented. At the risk of missing some out, the audience gets to witness: Acrobats; Tumblers; Vertical Pole work; Aerial Silks; Balancing Jugglers; Foot Archery; Knife Throwing… the list goes on. With performers from Morocco to Mongolia to the Czech Republic to Brazil—yes, even from here to Timbuktu—it’s a truly universal display. It is very difficult to watch each and every performer and not wonder at their technical ability, risk-taking frame of mind, and enviable core strength. Sure, I can juggle three balls, but not whilst balanced on a board on top of two small barrels separated by another board, all on top of a platform, eight feet off the ground.

There are definitely stand-out moments. The aerial move where one performer is supported only by the back of her head as she spins is equal parts awesome and nerve-racking; the flaming knives being thrown at one surely-dizzy spinning assistant is another such breath-taking scene; and The Mongolian Acrobats invoke awe with their daring displays of athleticism and trust. Really, though, it’s The Lucius Team from Brazil who steal the night. Seeing three motorbikes riding upside down, in the dark, in a caged ball, is spectacular and leaves the audience firmly on a high.

There are other moments where the evening falls slightly flat. Circus shows like this are always battling against the expectations of the audience, which is tricky. It almost feels as if ordinary people should have to try out some of the routines first to truly realise how difficult these feats really are. What happens then, is that moments of skilful skipping, for example, are fun, but not entirely captivating. The clowning also struggles with the curse of expectation. When we know something is supposed to be laugh-out-loud funny, the moments that don’t work border on cringe. The performers are undoubtedly great but the second the momentum drops, it takes a while for the audience to re-find their voice and energy.

It isn’t helped by the sound design. While the thumping tracks mostly do the job—think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Sherlock, then add more bass—there are some odd choices, such as underscoring a balletic dance/movement piece with music that wouldn’t be out of place in an underground club in Berlin. Perhaps, in this more theatre setting, timing the stunts more closely to the score to create some stronger storylines (admittedly, incredibly difficult) would have allowed the audience to connect on a deeper level to the work, leaving us not just impressed, but touched. Paulo dos Santos’ aerial scene towards the end stands as a good example of this untapped potential.

Really though, it’s a well-paced, very well-performed show with lots of moments of brilliance—and one jarring appearance from an alien robot shooting sparks out of his arms. Martin “Zippo” Burton and his team have done an excellent job sourcing this talent and creating this show, and it deserves a packed audience of families from across the city.