Fun and games as Cirque du Soleil hits Newcastle

Jun 29 2010 by David Whetstone, The Journal

THE circus is coming to town this week – or rather the circuses are coming to town.

All the way from Quebec come the giants of the arena circus business, Cirque du Soleil, which currently has 20 different shows worldwide and some 5,000 employees on the payroll.

They won’t all be coming to Newcastle for their show which will be performed six times at Metro Radio Arena from tomorrow until Sunday, but a big show is on the cards.

It’s called Saltimbanco, which apparently comes from the Italian ‘saltare in banco’, meaning ‘to jump on a bench’.

Full of breathtaking trapeze and acrobatic performances and with a multitude of costume changes, this is the company’s longest-serving show.

The show will feature more than 50 performers from 20 countries.

Brighter and more family-friendly than last year’s Quidam, it should look absolutely fantastic as well as being full of grace and daring.

Something much more ‘British’ can be seen at the Theatre Royal from Thursday to Saturday.

Clive Webb and Danny Adams have been an essential ingredient of the venue’s panto for the past few years – but they also have a circus act.

Circus Hilarious has been going for 15 years and while it can’t boast 20 worldwide clones it does have the region’s best-loved clowns.

Pie-hurling and slapstick are part of the Circus Hilarious repertoire although there’s a canny bit of skill in there too.

This week’s bill promises top clown Cousin Timoni and his rolling globe, Mad Mick’s Clownforce, the only all-clown rock group in the world, and a bevy of glamorous, pie-dodging showgirls.

Oh, and there’s also Professor Wacko, from Moscow University, with his “incredible trampoline act”.

Tickets for Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco at Metro Radio Arena (tomorrow until Sunday) are from £25 to £50. Tickets: 0844 493 6666. Tickets for Circus Hilarious at Newcastle Theatre Royal (Thursday to Saturday) are from £7 to £15. Tickets: 08448 112121.