You won't find a stripy big top pitched on the Downs or the usual cluster of caravans to house the lion tamers and acrobats but the circus has come to town. The performers of Circus Oz are treading the boards at the Hippodrome and their feats of daring are all the more impressive for the confined space. One trapeze artist glided high over the heads of row H with a cool nonchalance that shouldn't belong to someone with nothing but a rope swing for company. In a scene reminiscent of the Chuckle Brothers, a workman gets the odd shock when trying to replace the light bulb on a lamppost - except this lamppost sways from side to side and is only inches from the Hippodrome ceiling. The lithe Captain Frodo abandoned the stage all together and spent the interval leaping from Royal Box to Upper Circle to the astonishment of those tucking into their ice cream. Roll Up! Roll Up! As the name suggests, Circus Oz is entertainment with a distinctly Antipodean feel. The clowns mutter 'G'day' as they amble across stage and, whether at the bottom of a human pyramid or riding a bicycle on fire, each of the 13-strong 'cast' look as relaxed as Andrew Flintoff when facing the bowling attack of their compatriots. Fans of the BBC2 series 'Kath & Kim' about the adventures of two dreadful Ozzie suburbanites should not miss their near relatives 'Tone & Tam' with their mock fitness class.
 | | Silliness and stunts aplenty |
Clad in tight lycra with an abundance of frizzy hair, they lead the audience in an
aerobics class with a distinctly Jane Fonda-feel. Tone then squeals orders at the hula-twirling Tam to take on more and more hoops until little of Tam is invisible for all the moving plastic. There is a darker side to the Circus Oz comedy than the usual slapstick fare you expect ringside. In a forerunner to an excruciating-to-watch sword swallowing, a samurai is approached by three ninja warriors armed with threatening looking fruit and veg in a scene worthy of the Python. In a stunt following 'cucumber double death' and 'aubergine confusion', we are told that only 'two people have ever attempted this and they are now dead...or at least very old, we've lost contact' before a concrete slab is smashed on the strongwoman's torso. Perhaps the greatest accolade should go to the enigmatic Cap'n Frodo. As he leapt salmon-like between different parts of the auditorium, I couldn't help wondering why he was dressed as Bjorn Borg. All became clear when he managed to squeeze his whole body through a 12-inch and then a 10-inch tennis racket, dislocating his shoulder in the process with remarkable ease - don't go on a full stomach. | 
