THEY'VE reinvented the circus at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Eclipse, which has opened for the summer season at the fun park's new state-of-art Globe Theatre, is billed as a "circus musical", and as such it takes the traditional concept into the 21st century. These are thoroughly modern lords of the ring.
The show brings together performers from around the world; classical ballet dancers rub shoulders with face-painted jugglers, trapeze artists with disco divas.
It's a spectacular fusion of talents, all set against a musical score that combines a Clapton-esque, slow-hand guitar with the thunderous rhythms of a jungle drumbeat.
Top-of-the-bill is aerialist Vladimir, the former Russian mineworker who now earns his living in places like Las Vegas and Florida.
He flies through the air and right over the audience with alarming speed and panache -- dressed unnervingly in only a highly-decorated thong.
But perhaps the star of the evening is the stunning laser-lights show, which pierces the audience with enough intensity , you might think, to repair a torn retina.
Amanda Thompson -- part of the formidable Thompson dynasty which runs Britain's favourite pleasure park -- produces and directs with imagination and flair.
Eclipse runs at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Globe Theatre until November 4.
KEITH RAFFAELLI
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article