Saturday night at the Marine Theatre: as the audience entered they saw a transformed theatre; the stage curtains are red, a glitter ball is turning and live music is being played by a white faced clown. A real sense of magic is in the air and as the show began a Circus Mistress in top hat and flouncy skirt steps centre stage,. Surrounded by the characters whose stories we are to follow she introduces us in a rousing song to the cast and the concept. A traveling circus with a story attached to every performer, the script was based on poems and text written by Anna Maria Murphy

First we met the quiet office worker who dreams of being a lion tamer, and leaves the office to follow his heart. Ollie Oakenshield brought a professional gloss to everything he did as Sirus.He is a consummate actor but that rare performer being also very physically skilled, performing magic tricks, swinging from the trapeze and dancing with flair and confidence. He carried the show along but was ably supported by the other members of the cast.  

Wendy Taylor playing Svetlana, The Living Doll was superb, maintaining a doll like stillness and otherworldliness throughout. Her occasional blink and exaggerated eye movements created a wonderfully spooky atmosphere to her scenes. Molly Weaver as Lo Lo the clown was so moving, her unrequited love bringing pathos to her story, which was full of elements of  mystery, spectacle and horror. Ben Sutcliffe’ music was an essential part of the evening’s success. He played  and sang, complimenting the action and driving the narrative forward. The extraordinary presence of Madame Lucinda played by Angelina Boscarelli, who is both Artistic Director of Rogue Theatre and the director of the Wonder Show, tied together the disparate elements of the story, even at one point she sat in an armchair by the side of the stage reading from a magical storybook, as shadow puppets acted out the story behind lighted screens on stage. The evening was over too soon, with the audience rising to their feet to applaud this small Cornish company that had given them a night to remember.