Extreme Circus, located in Mayflower park in Southampton, hosts a large space for the action that occurs under the red tent and sells light up wands, sticks and swords as well as the traditional circus food, popcorn and cotton candy. 

The multitalented crew of the Extreme Circus included stuntmen, who carried out a series of daredevil tricks such as defying physics with motorbikes and an oversized globe wheel or ramp jumping over said wheel, a trapeze artist team,  a multitude of dancers ranging from ballet to street dance and a Clown who occasionally had a guest appearance in these acts as well as starring in his own segments between acts.  

Hampshire Chronicle: The Globe of Death

Inside the tent, there was an abundance in seats that circled the stage which meant anybody could see the show no matter the perspective. Adding to the atmosphere of the circus was the lighting, smoke effects, pop music and the two large displays projecting close ups of the performers. There was a fair bit of audience participation, whether it was individuals being pulled onto stage or seeing who could cheer the loudest, you really felt involved. 

Each act brought something new to the show and added to the experience rather than feeling repetitive or overdone. Even the classic clown performance didn’t feel like something that had been seen before as they instead innovated on audience expectations which lead to lots of fun surprises, which is a clear reason for why they were chosen to have a documentary on Amazon Prime based off of them. A favourite of an audience member, Pryia Rayan was the “superb” ariel aqua act while another crowd favourite seemed to be the motorbike acts such as the “Globe of Death” and the leaping over the globe. 

The circus really does live up to it’s name of being extreme as well as breath-taking and jaw dropping and we anxiously await to see what they bring to the circus next. 

  • This article was written by Arjun Selva, from Wildern School, as part of Newsquest's Youngs Reporter Scheme.