Chinese State Circus


Imagine the House of the Flying Daggers, minus the unhappy ending, and with special effects created by human resources rather than cinematography.

The Chinese State Circus is packed with performers who are all superheroes in their own right: sword-wielding Wu-Shu warriors, daring hoop divers, jar jugglers, and a human chandelier (nothing to do with spontaneous combustion, this is in fact a contortionist with candlesticks.)

They’ve got all the gear for the part - the costumes, the masks, the props, the special abilities, which combine to produce a superb display of showmanship.

For the Shaolin Wu Shu warriors, training to the peak of physical perfection and mental focus is not just for show but a way of life. They enter the Shaolin temple at an early age to be initiated into Zen Buddhism and Martial arts, and learn special breathing techniques to reach a deep state of meditation, combining positive thinking with clarity of purpose.

Ringside members of the audience are invited to check the weight of bricks and slates which are placed on the head or chest of the Shaolins before being smashed into rubble.

This has taken many years of intense training to achieve and needless to say the performance opens with the obligatory warning “don’t try this at home.”

All sorts of things are juggled in this show, including ceramic pots, plates, and a potato which is tossed into the air and ends up skewered on a knife.

These circus skills are built on centuries of tradition – although the use of motorised rotating hoops is a more recent addition which gives one act a modern twist and ups the ante as acrobats jump back and forth through the gaps. As with all of the performances, it’s an impressive display of agility, spot-on precision and timing.

No animals were harmed in the making of this circus – the bestial element being symbolically provided by the show’s narrator, the Monkey King, and the traditional dance of the Lions, bringers of good fortune.

It’s an imaginative interpretation of a story which has been 2,000 years in the telling - without losing its freshness or magic.

*Currently touring: see website for details.