Christmas is coming. The lights are up and the air smells of mulled wine. In Leicester Square a collection of stalls has appeared, including the famous Spiegeltent.
It’s by no means as grand as the one on Southbank, which does mean that there isn’t quite as much flexibility for certain acts. That said, they’ve done a pretty good job with the space. The atmosphere is just as electric, the design the same. What it lacks in grandeur, it makes up for in enthusiasm and audience delight.
The regular favourites are all there, including the English Gentlemen (Hamish McCann and Denis Lock) who show the true meaning of a stiff… upper lip. So many muscles, acrobatics and laughs, in a very British way of course.
Ursula Martinez returns for the last time, strumming la gitarra as she sings a little ditty. And then she brings back her disappearing hanky act which makes the crowd go wild!
Interestingly it is the bubble act that gets the standing ovation. Science meets beauty as Denis Lock mixes chemicals in a Sherlock-esque sequence that is completely mesmerising.
Combined with Hamish McCann’s fabulous lamppost act, hula hoops and all sorts of other entrancing acts, La Soirée at Leicester Square is a good little sister to the main event at Southbank.
Reviewed by Michaela Clement-Hayes
Photo: Nuffsed.co.uk
LA SOIREE plays in Leicester Square until 8 January 2017. Get tickets
