Pavilion finds new role as circus Big Top

The De La Warr Pavilion has assumed many guises in its 72 years - concert hall and theatre, dance hall, conference centre, exhibition space.

Now it can add to its laurels Circus Big Top.

Like the seasoned pro that it is, the building slips into its fresh costume effortlessly and rejoices in a new role

There is a heart-stopping hiatus at the opening of Acrobats and Angels when it feels as if a bold venture is not going to work.

Then the show gathers its skirts and gets under way, the audience warms to some stunning acts and begins to respond, children sit in wide-eyed awe and despite the absence of flapping canvas and the smell of crushed grass the indefinable atmosphere that is circus weaves its magic.

This is a show which is part stage-orientated and part auditorium. Conventional rows of seats have for the greater part been replaced by cabaret-style seating around circular tables.

The result is both warm and inviting. Audience participation is part of the show's success but equally engaging is the audience's feeling of involvement for many of the tables are only a few feet from the acts.

Technicians erect a tall poll and guy wires in the interval. Richard Durnford's act has the audience on the edge of their seats.

The man defies gravity! He launches himself at the pole with cat-like agility and appears to stick to it like a magnet to a fridge door.

His muscle-control is finely-honed perfection. He walks up the vertical pole with nonchalant ease then, with a sinuous, near-fluid, motion, glides down it.

The highlight of his act is to plummet head-first in a plunge which ends in dramatic arrest a bare six inches from the hard wooden floor.

This is not pantomime. It is not without its flat-spots. But Acrobats and Angels has plenty of compensatory highlights. And it does leave audiences going home with that warm glow of entertainment enjoyment which is as essential a Yuletide ingredient as turkey and Christmas pud.

Acrobats And Angels runs at the pavilion until Sunday, December 30, a run which, given the quality of much of the show, is all too short.