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En Haut (Up Up Up Up Up) circus review: Finding light in darkness

Likeable clowning and mime combine to create a warm-hearted tale of rebirth and kinship 

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En Haut (Up Up Up Up Up) circus review: Finding light in darkness

While the lone, looming, cracked egg on centre stage may seem daunting at first, don’t let that stop you from stepping into the heartwarming world of En Haut (Up Up Up Up Up). Featuring a combination of traditional French-style circus clown antics and almost-wordless storytelling, this show is a dream for comedy fans with big hearts.

Telling the joyful tale of a fallen angel, reborn from an egg and learning lessons to rejoin his brethren in heaven, En Haut finds light in darkness and humour in pain. The mostly one-man show reaches for paradise, while a choir singing Georgian hymns take stage left in a glamorous purple glow. Who knew an almost naked man wearing nothing but an egg-ish diaper could teach the modern world so much about life? Together, we can find a voice that will reach heaven: just remember, it’s ‘not a Jesus thing’.

Albeit occasionally, terrifyingly, human, this is an upbeat show about forgiveness and kinship. Learning to cooperate with others does however require the assistance of audience members but you might just leave with a beautiful flower as a thank-you: just don’t ask where it came from

En Haut (Up Up Up Up Up), Fool’s Paradise, until Sunday 23 February, 6:30pm.

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