Strut and Fret company have two shows in the Spiegeltent in Garden of Unearthly Delights this year, Limbo the Return and La Ronde. Both are extravagant ventures into circus, trapeze and aerial performances. Under director Scott Maidment’s keen eye for detail, La Ronde is a spectacular and captivating performance that keeps the energy levels high for two acts.

European cabaret performer Gigi McFarlane gets the crowd in the mood for fun with an upbeat and playful tune before the antics of Adam Malone keep the audience in stitches. Starting as a Harry Potter character in a white dressing gown and cap, he soon has an “accidental” wardrobe malfunction, which finds him enticing an audience member to help, luring him in with biscuits. This is physical comedy at its finest.

Polina from Belarus performs an act where she hangs from her hair and performs a spinning trapeze act that takes the audience’s breath away. UK contortionist Sam Goodburn has an intriguing performance with a show of strength before pyramid-trapeze virtuoso Diana Bondarenko from Ukraine is high above, climbing in and through her trapeze setup.

The star of the show is Ukraine performer Sergiy Mishchurenko, who has mastered the art of the trapeze pole, with feats of strength that need to be seen to be believed.

The show is full of acrobatics, fire, music and peppered with plenty of risque humour. It really keeps the audience spellbound throughout. With the stage centrally located inside the tent, the audience is as much a part of the show as the performance. There are no safety nets, only glitz, glamour and incredible displays of talent.