Cirque: The Greatest Show at O2 Indigo is currently on tour across the UK, produced by James Taylor, the director of Entertainers. Cirque is an incredibly glitzy performance, and has aimed to set itself apart by combining circus with musical theatre. Well-known hits from Broadway and the West End are sung by the cast members in between, and sometimes during, their dancing and circus acts. Unfortunately this isn’t pulled off. Such a mix of performances makes the show feel, as a whole, unorganised and messy. Perhaps as the tour goes on, the show may become more refined, however it will be hard to avoid the confusing and disorientating lurches in between song, dance, and circus. Most of the show disappointingly seemed out of practice; the singing and dancing by the cast came across as strained and clumsy, in fact, one performer using an aerial cube dropped it mid performance, off the front of the stage. Other acts included general acrobatics, aerial hoops, extreme roller skating, miming, magic, and fire performances; all of which definitely were impressive and proved talent, however were not executed as cleanly as I have seen in other circus shows. 

The show is held together by Christian Lee, a mime artist who is essentially on stage the whole time. He plays a silent character sitting in his living room which is a small set wheeled out at certain rest points during the show. He achieves a good amount of audience participation and provides comic relief to some extent, putting on very traditional small magic acts and mime tricks.

It is important to recognise however that the space at Indigo at the O2 is a theatre space after all, and there must have been difficulty when adapting the space to suit circus acts and to suit the show they wanted to put on. The space they had available was used to its fullest potential, and I particularly liked the large circus tent cut-out at the back of the stage through which performers emerged. The costumes were also fun, full of glitter, feathers, and colour, making for an entertaining visual experience. 
I would not recommend this show if you are looking to watch some exciting and daring circus acts, however if you are looking for some glam and sparkly numbers, Cirque: The Greatest Show does offer that. It is also a great show for kids and families; there were many children in the audience singing and clapping along. The next performance of Cirque: The Greatest Show is in Scarborough on the 8th July.