Review by Aislinn McSharry

Underbelly Circus Hub – The Beauty

A circus experience, showcasing a truly phenomenal skill standard, Three Legged Race productions Sophie’s Surprise 29^th has audiences gasping in awe, laughing-out-loud, and sitting on the edge of our seats, in all too real states of absolute concern, as the performers fling each other around, hang from the ceiling, or even get dressed on moving unicycles! Perfectly curated chaos, outstanding circus routines, and party hits, this truly is a Fringe must-see; A spotlight on ridiculously impressive acrobats, it is (somehow) contained every night within Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows.  

Performers from Cirque du Soleil, La Clique, The 7 Fingers, and more, come together, as different kinds of party guests (from goths to geeks) to celebrate Sophie’s Surprise 29^th Birthday! And who is Sophie… an unsuspecting audience member of course!  

Katharine Arnold wowed audience members: at first playing ‘The Ugly Duckling’ character, she is seen spinning herself up and down a rope (or “corde lisse”), soundtracked to ‘I Want You To Want Me’ by Letters to Cleo, before her transition into a ‘cool girl’. With this transition, Arnold performs with an aerial hoop, to a slowed, sultry version of the same song, and, at some moments, she hangs off it, attached only by a singular toe. Audiences were ecstatic and completely blown-away watching Arnold’s talent displayed.  

While more focus could have been paid to the various plotlines, so that the production felt less like a series of different performances strung together, when used, the character dynamics were very engagingly maximised: the Goth character (Cornelius Atkinson) fights with another man (Nathan Price) for his girlfriend (Emily McCarthy), in the most circus method imaginable. Atkinson hangs upside from an aerial bar, Price stands upright on the ground, and McCarthy is thrown between the two of them, sometimes lifted all the way up around the aerial bar with Atkinson, and then dropped all the way down into Price’s open arms. Acting accompanied this performance, and in the process of being fought over, McCarthy was often balanced between them, her feet on Price’s shoulders before being slowly lifted up by Atkinson – an expert show of each of their strength and skill.  

A fun, immersive experience, littered with audience participation (and even a little bit of Karaoke), Sophie’s Surprise 29^th is a convivial, entertaining way of experiencing Circus at this year’s Fringe Festival.  

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