Idris Stanton – Wham Glam Circus Man!

Idris Stanton – Wham Glam Circus Man!
Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020. Wonderland Spiegeltent at Gluttony. Feb 15 to March 15, 2020

‘Triple Threat - a person, especially a performer or sports player, who is proficient in three important skills within their particular field.’ Not many performers have it, but when they have, their work is a joy to watch!

Idris Stanton in Wham Glam Circus Man! has it in buckets. When you think of circuses, one of the last things that comes to mind is Glam Rock. Idris seamlessly blends them into one and creates a show that delights adults and children alike.

Juggler extraordinaire, magician and stand-up comedian, there seems to be nothing he can’t do. In Glam makeup reminiscent of a combination of Boy George and Alice Cooper and a costume he tells us, a mixture of Angus from AC/DC and Elton John, he is totally entertaining from start to finish.

As a comedian Stanton is hysterical, the master of ad lib and it is refreshing that he does not resort to crude language in order to be funny. He is an expert at using the audience as inspiration for his humour which is never a put down. There were a lot of children in the audience and he cleverly plays his humour on two levels, children and adults.

I have seen many jugglers who invariably end up performing the same tricks, not Idris. He uses the standard props, balls (some that rattle), knives, tambourines and even a chainsaw but approaches his juggling in a new fresh way. In particular, his chainsaw and knife juggling had us all gasping.

His magic is subtle but amazing and his use of a ventriloquist doll for a Rock song was inspired. In fact, Rock is the ‘glue’ that holds the show together. It forms the basis of audience participation and even if you are not a fan of Rock music you can’t help but clap and sing along.

The ‘air guitar’ segment is a highlight using a member of the audience and a tennis racquet that is ‘wired for sound’. The audience member from the performance I saw gave quite a performance himself!

Idris Stanton is truly the master of his craft and Idris Stanton: Wham Glam Circus Man! is a show for the whole family not to be missed!

Barry Hill

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