Empress Museum, London
While there is strength and skill on display, this circus show lacks a knockout performance and the film’s enduring anthems don’t always fit the action
A stage adaptation of The Greatest Showman has been a cinch since the 2017 film became one of the all-time biggest musical hits at the box office. Disney has one in development but in the meantime, pitched up between an office block and a padel club in Earl’s Court, this “circus spectacular” repurposes Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s imperishable anthems – several more than once – for a series of acrobatic routines.
The gossamer-thin narrative and the museum-styled venue both have tangential relevance to the film in which Hugh Jackman’s PT Barnum opens a house of curiosities before hitting the jackpot by replacing waxworks with live acts. En route to the big top for the show, theatregoers pass through a gallery where top hats are suspended from the ceiling, canes are framed on the wall and lurid posters promote a snake charmer, strongmen and other acts.
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