What a State

What has happened to Moscow State Circus? It used to be an old-style, muscle-and-tumble show, energetic and upbeat, lithe and proud, even if it was untouched by every new trend in circus and performance. But that was the former Soviet Union for you, and no one watched the Ruskies for new wave experimentation. Still, that doesn't explain the tired, tatty and just plain hopeless circus show at the South Bank this Christmas.

With one or two exceptions, the acts were gaudy, tawdry and with circus skills well below what we're used to from other visiting troupes.

The props were old and worn, the routines jaded, and the costumes thin, poorly laundered, and at times much too revealing for the young children in the audience. Call me old fashioned, but some parts of the anatomy are better kept veiled.

The musicians are best described as a function band.

Little wonder, then, that there was no magic or innocence or Christmas wonder, just a series of acts where almost everyone looked bored and worn out, as if they'd been going through the same old routines since collectivised farming and no one had told them, post-Gorbachev, to make adequate pension arrangements.

The gloom rubbed off on the younger performers, most of whom looked miserable. The exception were two of the acrobats on the flying trapeze, the strongman, and the troupe of swing acrobats who, despite their Smurf-like outfits and dire dance routines, seemed to be enjoying themselves. Their somersaulting was especially good, and the back-flips on stilts

genuinely eye-popping.

But the rest? Oh Lordy, where to begin? The clowns were unfunny, the jugglers only average, and the compere made Liberace seem modest. The look and feel was pier-end disco circa 1972, which would not actually matter if the circus acts were polished and tight, or they had the joie de vivre that can rescue less than accomplished performers. They had neither.

The publicity material talks of the disarray and uncertainty post-Communist times have inflicted on Russian circus. On the evidence of the Moscow State troupe, market forces can't arrive soon enough.

Until 5 January. Information: 0870 382 8000.