I’ve seen a lot of things in my time. I’ve been lucky enough to travel a fair bit, meet countless interesting people and experience a wealth of different things. But until last week I can safely say I’ve never seen a man lift a cannonball with his unmentionables…and then proceed to attach himself to a Henry Hoover, dragging poor Henry back and forward across an empty stage.
For a couple of hours last Thursday night I was transported into some otherworldly in-inbetween, where physicial feats, grotesque gore and live heavy metal fused to provide the type of show rarely seen in these here parts. Courtesy of the ever-present Barrowlands, it was a surreal pleasure to get along to the Glasgow stop of the Circus of Horrors national tour.
Having posted a few restaurant and gig reviews on Get Out Glasgow, I wasn’t quite sure how to begin translating this one; but I had to give it a go. Until going (a surprise from a friend), I had no idea what the Circus of Horrors was, despite now being a West-End mainstay. Incorporating two hours of overt showmanship, pyrotechnics and edible insides, it really was the strangest show on Earth.
I think for me, part of the fun was not knowing what I was headed to until the very last minute – from the queue outside I have to say I’d thought Finnish rockers HIM may have been in town. The ballrooms doors were gated by the usual heavies on the outside, but entering, it was hard to miss the décor and extravagantly dressed actors behind the ticket counter.
Packed into the ballroom’s meat market there was the usual build up, uncertainty and chatter amongst the heavily leathered (in more ways than one) crowd. ‘Camp Dracula’ opened proceedings, assisted by the multi-talented man (of later Henry Hoover fame) to provide the context and story to follow. The show would prop itself up on a gruesome and gory period of 19th century London, covering various locations, including the infamous Bedlam. At this point actors in various degrees of decaying and decrepit make-up filtered through the audience grabbing and scaring as they went. I thankfully managed to battle the Vietnam style ghost train flashbacks (you weren’t there man…) from my younger years, and enjoy the bumping and moaning.
As the show got underway the most immediately noticeable addition to the show was the fully live and gussied up heavy metal 4 piece providing live backing for the whole show. And to their credit, the licks and fills never let up for a moment. Dr Haze, the lead singer, was also the main character and his gruff and grunting Hetfield/Lemmy style approach was definitely in keeping with the vibe of the show. At various points actors and artists joined in, but this was primarily a Circus; physical feats and illusions were the focus for sure.
The first half of the show featured some trapeze and balancing folks, doing all manner of suspended contortions, which was exciting enough on its own. We were also treated to an actual contortionist; the exorcist theme built around it serving to really spread the creeps through the audience. Sordid fire-eaters and punk sword-swallowers helped ease the show between larger acts and the first half drew rapidly to a close, while most were probably still trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
In the interest of being as fair as possible, the only real downside of the night was the lack of any cohesion or plot. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect three acts and several Oscar level, complimentary character arcs from a circus, but I did feel that given the promise of five distinct locations to be visited and a vague allusion to a story and characters, by half time I wasn’t quite sure where we were, and who was who. Not to take away from the spectacle – but the overarching pledge and turn never seemed to quite link soundly to the prestige.
The second half however, opened in a somewhat more risqué fashion – a woman cramped in a small glass jar was released to bare all to the crowd in a bit of a shock and awe moment which certainly cemented that this was not a family event. I have to say it didn’t feel too forced, and alongside some other full nudity throughout the evening did give the show the bit of bite and edge that probably set it apart from other similar offerings.
It’s at this point I’ll have to plead a bit of uncertainty. The imprinted Henry Hoover and cannonball moments could have happened at any point in the evening, although I do want to say it came later in the night. I’m going to have to chalk that up to a bit of lingering taken aback-ness!
More pomposity and ludicrousness filled the remainder of the show, as things were kicked up a gear. Women swung by their hair, others were cut in half to torrents of blood and (apparently edible) innards. Some tropical dancers made us all feel very ordinary as they flipped and tripped across the stage and under excruciatingly low limbo poles. The band were given their spotlight and dues, before fire, brimstone and a large group number drew the show to a timely close. As quickly as it had begun, the strangeness ceased.
The Barrowlands played great host for the evening, and the gothic art deco fixtures were the ideal choice for this kind of show. As for the show itself, it’s hard to fault people who’ll do this maybe 40 times over a two month period, and the execution was in most ways great. A slight lack of plot, and some cheesy acting and song lyrics were probably expected, and so not much of a surprise in all fairness. I can safely say a lot of it I’ll likely (and maybe hopefully) never see again! I should also give all credit to the cast, who made themselves available for photos and autographs after the show.
Overall – it’s worth checking out. You may have missed them this time around, but the show tours fairly regularly, and all the dates can be found on their site.
You can follow the author of this article, Jamie Cook, on Twitter @TheTartanRogue.
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