Afrique en Cirque by Kalabanté Productions at Brighton Dome – Review

On the Friday night after Boxing Day there weren’t too many people about in the city centre but Church Street was buzzing with those hoping to shake off their tinsel-tinged torpor.

Afrique en Cirque by Kalabanté Productions did just that with superb live music, incredible athleticism, and jaw-dropping contortionism, blowing away the Crimbo cobwebs and thrilling a good-sized crowd.

(Image: na) The joyous West African-inspired tunes (played on various drums, a kora/African harp, sax and fretless bass) propelled the 90-minute show and were a wonderful accompaniment to the dizzying leaps and somersaults on stage.

Huge deep drums made your insides vibrate, and were loud enough to wake the nearby ghost of the Prince Regent.  Fans of Brighton’s drum-heavy Burning the Clocks would certainly approve.

Between the surprisingly good sing-alongs and crash-course in Guinean numeracy, there were some fab acrobatics, juggling and high-jinks with a giant gravity-goading hula hoop.

(Image: na) The most memorable scene came in the form of a freakishly flexible contortionist who had a spine like spaghetti and put his limbs in places where no limbs should sensibly go.

As he clapped his feet together over the top of his head I wondered if Christopher Biggins was ever called on to do anything similar for panto.

Amid gasps from the audience he finished by turning his head in the way that would make a barn owl wince.

Unsurprisingly the performers’ endeavours had resulted in impressive physiques, with ripped six to eight pack abs and muscles on their muscles.  

Those bods were fully on display in a slightly saucy scene which saw the chaps in construction site clobber, gyrating away in a Full Monty/Chippendale style. As Tom Jones might have belted out: they could leave their (hard) hats on, but had apparently forgotten to remember their shirts…
There were a few wolf whistles as they wiggled their hips and managed to stay on the right side of family show before some more crazy feats of balance and strength.

The night finished with a standing ovation and bandleader Yamoussa Bangoura saying: “Tell your friends and family that we are amazing.” He wasn’t wrong.

Afrique en Cirque runs until January 31 with performances at 2pm & 7.30pm today and tomorrow (Sunday December 29 and Monday December 30), and a matinee on New Year’s Eve (Tuesday December 31) at 2pm.

A couple of slips, unsurprising given the frantic pace and dizzying feats