Review: Circus of Horrors, Ipswich Regent, March 8

Published: 5:11 PM March 10, 2014 Updated: 8:32 PM October 11, 2020

Circus of Horrors - Credit: Archant

An assorted crowd of Goths, body modification fans and the generally curious gathered at the Ipswich Regent to see the ultimate freak show created for rock stars - The Circus of Horrors.

For 18 years The Circus of Horrors has been showcasing the amazing feats the human body can achieve - from displays of amazing agility and strength, tolerance to pain to the just downright weird.

The show kicked off with a cursing Nosferatu warning those sat at the front row that they may get splattered with guts and gore, while the rest of the cast crawled over the audience to reach the stage.

Gothic acrobats, flame-swallowers and a vicar performing a balancing act with crucifixes were accompanied by fierce guitar-shred solos, distorted cackles from the un-dead ringmaster Dr Haze and lighting explosions worthy of any rock stadium.

There was a cohesion to the madness. The acts were sewn together with a story that stretched and squirmed over a 1665 plague ridden London.

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At times there was an urge to peel your eyes away from the horror, a tattooed sword-guzzler act in particular being quite gruesome. However the recent West-End smash has carefully measured its shock-factor, mixing in a rude devil dwarf with startling aerial silk dancers that you would be missing out if you did.

Good fun if you don’t mind feeling slightly sick afterwards.