Circus of Horrors; Psycho Asylum at The Playhouse, Weston

Right, gentle readers; prepare to have your sensibilities compromised, because this show is definitely not for the faint hearted.

Actually, it could have caused the sudden demise of persons with any cardiac anomalies, as even the sudden blast of raucous soundtrack that announced the arrival on stage of the inhabitants of this asylum nearly made me jump out of my skin!

Now, I am an aficionado of the mildly macabre such as “Gotham”, and I figured that I could take the blend of sword swallowers, cross bow and knife throwing vixens, flaming hula hooping divas, hair hangers, strong men, whirlwind acrobats, twisted contortionists, sinister aerialists and a criminally insane theme in my stride: well, maybe I am not quite as fireproof as I thought.

There is no denying that the artistes in Dok Haze’s latest extravaganza are brilliant exponents of their various crafts and the show is explosive, innovative and a visual feast of fast and furious action. There are also certain “parts” which I will struggle to erase from my memory; a smiling Henry hoover being dragged around the stage attached to a no doubt long since insensitive male appendage being one of them. I will spare you the myriad of quips and comparisions that I could make along those line, suffice it to say that it takes some beating as a party piece!

My main gripe with this show was the decibels used to keep the action going, because the vibrations were actually making me feel that my heart was pounding, and my companion nearly didn’t make it beyond the first half hour because the level of noise was causing him huge discomfort ( I was delighted to see him return complete with protective earplugs found by the management- fabulous customer service from Mr Ryle!!!)

This is certainly a night of riotous entertainment, and I would recommend it to anyone who can cope with an ear-splitting soundtrack, can deal with the intense and tongue in cheek macabre or is simply looking for a new “theatrical” experience in sleepy old Weston-super-Mare. This ageing reviewer survived the performance, but only just!!!

See what else is coming up at The Playhouse, Weston