Because I’m about as flexible as the tin man, I’ve always been impressed by bendy people. So at the weekend I joined the queue of kids high on candy floss and got ready to ooh and ahh at the Moscow State Circus. http://www.moscowstatecircus.com (there are half price ticket vouchers lying around cafes all over Edinburgh if you’re interested!)
And I was not disappointed. Sure it seemed a little bit retro here and there, but the show's theme based around the infamous and mysterious life of Rasputin, the Black Monk, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin quickly caught my attention. Like the bit at the start when Rasputin was apparently ‘escaping into his dreams’ just as two lycra-clad temptresses appeared and promptly draped themselves over him.
So that’s what monks dream about! Glad they cleared that up!
Anyway, Rasputin dotted in and out of the show, accompanied by an awkwardly translated voiceover delivered in a thick Russian accent which kept making me think of John Cleese in a Fish Called Wanda, but his main role was as ringmaster. One after the other he presented a fantastic troupe of super-bendy, bouncy and unspeakably coordinated performers.
I mean, even the clowns were bendy, for heaven's sake!
So when I bent down to pick up my brolly at the end of the show and felt my back ‘go’ the irony was not lost on me. ‘No, not now, not here of all places!’
Time to roll out the yoga mat methinks.
