Yesterday we went on a family day out to Yeadon Town Hall to see the much anticipated Mr Montgomery’s Circus Spectacular!
I first mentioned the show when I wrote my post Circus Carvinal Themed Birthday Party when I said the I thought that tickets to the circus would make a great birthday present. My daughter has opted for a circus-themed 5th birthday party this year so a trip to see Mr Montgomery’s Circus Spectacular was the perfect surprise for her.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a circus show and I must admit I was really unsure what to expect. I knew there wouldn’t be animals – that is due to be outlawed – and bearded ladies, human cannonballs and dog boys are the stuff of fairy tails. So what would this circus consist of?
By definition a circus is a travelling company of entertainers. I’m not how far these people had travelled but they were certainly a very talented group of entertainers that perhaps you could say are a hooper and skater, a contortionist and ariel hooper, and a pair of parkour/stunt performers.
I could sense the anticipation of the children as we walked into the upstairs hall at Yeadon Town Hall and they received their free souvenir activity book. There was a large stage with the word CIRCUS emblazoned across it. From the ceiling hung long drapes and colourful lights gave the whole room a real carnival feel.
Mr Montgomery’s Circus Spectacular show began with a short black and white film shown on the large screen backdrop to the stage before the ringmaster, Mr Montgomery, burst on to the stage to rapturous applause…ok well not quite rapturous…watching a show at 2pm in the afternoon with kids tends to make adults a lot more reserved than perhaps later in the evening. However, this didn’t matter as Mr Montgomery aka Jacob Phillips skilfully interacted with the audience and delivered jokes that helped everyone relax and get into the party mood.
First up in the performers was Kiki La Hula, a hula hoop artist. She entertained the audience with her skills of keeping any number of hoop spinning whilst performing in time to the music. A good start.
Next up was Catherine Marshall an ariel hoop artist. It was impressive to say the least to watch her bend and flex into all manner of shapes without falling off, and still maintaining a smile!
Kiki La Hula returned for a second performance, this time stepping up the skill level by performing on roller skates! My little one was mesmerised by the light-up hoops and she cheered when Kiki sent them spinning around her whilst skating around the stage. Catherine Marshall performed again this time as a contortionist, and proved she really is one of the most flexible women around with some eye-watering moves!
The final act was a pair of young men called ‘Equipoise’ meaning perfect balance of movement. They literally sprang onto the stage and flipped and whizzed about much to the delight of my boys who I’m sure will be trying to replicate them if they get half a chance.
All in all the show lasted around an hour and was the right length of time and for our kids age 4, 6 and 8. I’ve got to say we all loved it and it was the perfect children’s birthday treat. Just to make it extra special our little girl’s dreams literally came true when she was picked to go on stage to help Mr Montgomery with a card trick. We liked that there was plenty of audience participation to keep the kids even more engaged.
Catch Mr Montgomery’s Circus Spectacular at Yeadon Town Hall, West Yorkshire, everyday this week at 2pm and 5pm or on Saturday and Sunday at 10.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm. For more information go to www.yeadoncircus.com or call 0333 666 3366. Tickets cost from £8 and family tickets available.
Ad/Review: Were given complimentary tickets in return for this review. All views and opinions are our own.
