Stunning, brash, & joyous - Home is full of heart

Using ropes, pulleys, and an absurd amount of athleticism, the small international company create a hugely impressive spectacle.

It’s at turns brash, noisy and frenetic, but also sad and joyous, and deals with weighty issues such as loneliness among young people, with a surprisingly light touch.

There are traditional elements of the circus (including the trapeze, clowning around and juggling) but it all seems more fresh and relevant to modern audiences.

The performers’ abilities on the vertical-swinging trapeze and spinning carousels are other-worldly, and will elicit more than the odd gasp, but there’s more to Home than a succession of awe-inspiring gymnastics.

The dancing is elegant and graceful and some of the mid-air sequences have an almost dream-like quality.

Male members of the company are rippling with more muscles than Venice Beach, and scamper up huge ropes with minimal fuss and almost super-human strength. The physical comedy and pratfalls prove popular with the younger members of the audience (there’s a good number of them too), and not too many shows will feature roller-skate tap-dancing and bowler-hat juggling.

Music plays an important part in proceedings and the eclectic soundtrack is belted out live on stage, as cast members casually swap their ropes for an accordion, an electric guitar or microphone.

The sounds are sometimes a little raw but always varied and keep the performance moving. Mournful strings are intercut with turntable-scratching, and stark piano refrains give way to pounding drum and bass.

A memorable final scene features the entire cast doing their thing with maximum style, and as the piano player ascends, a slightly incongruous-looking snow machine adds a final touch of seasonal glitter.

Home is a charming and thoroughly original piece which aims high and soars way beyond more conventional circus shows.

Home - Pirates of the Carabina

Brighton Dome - Until December 23