Review from: Zippos’ big top, Blackheath Common, London; 12th April 2025
Bravo! is the title for this year’s succession of acts from Zippos, five in the first half after a flag waving entry parade and six in the second. Most acts comprise just one or two performers and, as with most circuses in the UK currently, there are neither animals nor a live band. A low, battleship grey stage fills the sizeable ring which, set against the dark blue interior of the big top, makes for quite a stark appearance, which is offset to a degree by a red curtained artiste’s entrance, topped with an illuminated Zippos sign, and, for some of the acts, a white stage cloth with a red star at its centre.
First up is the highly experienced and personable Cuban juggler Rafael de Carlos, who was recently at the Blackpool Tower Circus, and with Zippos previously at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland in 2023. He juggles up to four footballs in a variety of patterns as well as spinning them on his fingers. Putting on a belt that has three billiard table style pockets, two to his front and one centre back – and using smaller balls – de Carlos works his way up to juggling seven cleanly, concluding by catching three of the seven in each of the front pockets before skilfully catching the last in the back one. His final trick is juggling three table tennis balls with his mouth whilst spinning a football on each hand.
A smartly dressed Italian clown who effortlessly works the audience follows. ‘Mr Lorenz’ (Lorenzo Carnevale, previously with Zippos in 2016) performs cod magic in the first of several appearances during the show that feature Herb Alpert’s Spanish Flea, taking those of grandparent age back sixty years. Musical snippets of Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Chariots of Fire by Vangelis add to the vintage experience.
The first aerial act of the evening is Jackie-Louise Armstrong, who some years ago joined Zippos Academy of Circus Arts after a theatre degree, spinning pleasingly on the web rope, first by her wrist and then by her ankle. A fast neck spin completes her act.
Ukrainian sports acrobats Crazy Flight bring a more contemporary feel to the show, though their act is now over twenty years old. Created in 2002 by Dmitry Viskov of the Kyiv circus school and inspired by the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the acrobats, all in white, portray inmates in an asylum in an impressive balancing and banquine routine.
The final act of the first half, after a brief interlude by three Ukrainian dancers, is a new cradle act by Argentinian duo Aixa & Facundo. Accompanied by Astor Piazolla’s Libertango, Facundo, hanging by his knees high in the tent, throws and catches Aixa (sensibly on a lunge though the routine is clean) from hands to feet with a somersault thrown in for good measure.
After a twenty-minute interval, the second half opens with a recent graduate of Hungary’s Baross Imre Artiste Training Academy, Kinga Dienes. Trained as a foot juggler and handstand artist, Dienes balances on her hands on handstand canes and flawlessly manipulates a rhythmic gymnastics ball with her feet and in the crook of her knee whilst switching poses.
Mr. Lorenz reappears to play a tune on cowbells with the assistance of accommodating volunteers, then it’s time for the balloon-bursting crossbow act of the Phoenix Rebels, with, for the final trick, one of the duo firing an arrow that sets off a series of fixed crossbows with the final arrow piercing an apple above her partner’s head.
Paulo dos Santos, just a little over a metre tall, is a huge presence in the ring, and his straps act – to the most contemporary track in the show, Teddy Swims’ Lose Control – shows the muscular Brazilian in complete control of the discipline.
The largest troupe of the evening is the Mighty Zulu Warriors, truthfully a seven-strong company of Kenyan acrobats who enter with spears and shields and wear elements of Zulu costuming over leggings and t-shirts cropped to show their muscular midriffs. The Kenyan ‘Zulus’ perform an energetic act diving through Chinese hoops, with no mats to cushion the landing, followed up by a display of ‘Limbo folklore’ to Don Omar’s Feeling Hot. It’s a crowd-pleasing cultural mash-up.
Mr. Lorenz reemerges and attempts to change a light bulb. Ladder chaos ensues that ends with Lorenz atop a free-standing ladder and succeeding in his goal.
The final aerial act of the show is Cheyenne Folco from France on the cloudswing, with a range of tricks that includes the drop to ankles, and the show ends with up to four motorcyclists (the Lucius Team from Brazil) whizzing around in the spherical metal cage known as the Globe of Death.
There are some twenty performers in total – six solo acts, two double acts, two trios, and a four-person and a seven-person act. The show is distinctly light on originality but has a useful mix of the acts that are typical of UK touring circuses. The Creative Team comprises Martin ‘Zippo’ Burton, founder, with Beau Denning, circus director, and David Hibling, Creative Director.
The show runs two hours including a 20-minute interval. The seating is comfortable and spacious and offers good sight lines. Adult tickets range from £19 – £33, though, as with most touring circuses, discounts are often available via social media. The diverse audience for the 6.00pm show – the second one that Saturday – was about 300 strong, perhaps a third of the tent’s capacity.
