WHAT: Cirque Du Soul
WHEN/WHERE: UK-Wide Tour
PRICE: Varies
OUR RATING: Chance It!
This past Halloween weekend we travelled to the big top! The Clapham Grand was the latest venue for the travelling circus-inspired clubbing event. Cirque Du Soul brands themselves as the 21st Century’s Moulin Rouge, and we can tell why with the level of colour and energy they bring to the table. Granted, Clapham Grand is a smaller venue than they are used to performing in, but it was no less delightful than we expected, and let us dress up in our favourite twisted-carnie-style!
There was a wide range of great music on offer, anywhere from house, to soul and funk, to a bit of disco and hip-hop spun from live DJs on the dance floor. Clapham Grand set up the night in an interesting manner, with the DJ on the ground floor allowing for two different dance areas, one on the Grand’s stage itself, which was fun to experience as we’ve been to the venue many times but have never set foot on the stage before. This also allowed for a variety of perspectives to experience the decor and performers from several vantage points, and we loved the immersive feeling this provided with everything happening all around us.
The performers were definitely our highlight of the night, with circus-themed stilt walkers roaming the crowd and even two giant puppet-like clowns dancing among the revellers. Upon seeing these Killer Klowns from Outer Space-themed creatures we knew right away that Cirque du Soul must work with Area 51, an immersive design and event company who also provide performers and costumes – and we’re well acquainted with these favourite clowns of theirs! All the performers made the night what it was, dancing and interacting with the crowd in these incredible-difficult costumes. They charged up the atmosphere, and brought the circus to life at this incredible venue. We didn’t stay the entire night having already been to some other Storefront City events that evening, so we don’t know if we missed a bigger variety of acts (we thought there would be aerialists, fire or more, but The Grand is too small of a venue for this). Regardless, we were more than satisfied from the floor performers and the delightful and raucous energy they brought to the party.
Final Thoughts: While not as show-stopping as rival event The Dark Circus Party, Cirque Du Soul is definitely a fun themed night out with high levels of entertainment value, and heads above the Twisted Circus events we’ve also attended before. We’d be interested in seeing what Cirque du Soul can do with larger event spaces, especially with their relationship with Area 51 and their expertise in the circus arena – they’ve got a Christmas/NYE event coming up at the Troxy this year, so we’ll head over and try it out. And we can never say no to some Killer Klowns from Outer Space – these wacky weirdos will always have a place in our Halloween hearts!
