The first and, to date, last circus I ever went to was a rather tedious affair. There were no swinging acrobats, the clowns were bored, the animals didn’t move, the unicyclist seemed to be learning as he went and the ringmaster seemed drunk. There were no hoops or swings or tumbling acrobats, no fire breathing girls or human cannonballs or circus strongmen. As I stood outside the secret entrance of London’s new supper, burlesque and cabaret venue in Covent Garden, my mind went back to that absurd place of childhood and stayed there as I stepped into a dark entrance hall of shimmering mirrors, stayed there as I stepped out into a surreal dining space with fur painted walls, round tables decorated with silver emu feet and a long table/stage with imposing royal blue chairs – all designed by Habitat’s very own Tom Dixon – and then strangely disappeared as I took my seat and ordered a glass of Perrier Jouet Grand Brut.
As I sat there, my mind relaxed, the lights dimmed, a Spanish guitar reverberated across the dining area and up into the lounge and bar as hundreds of disco balls blazed green and blue and pink. First course concluded at the long ‘Party’ table (the kitchen enclave disappears at this point), a girl with extraordinary talent in her limbs resuscitated the life-force of many work-weary folk nearby by contorting herself into a transparent shoe-box and blowing fire as she snaked across the stage. Main course almost through (Churassco steak coupled with pulled pork on potato latkes, beautifully arranged by chef Nik Biok, famous for his pan-American cuisine), two svelte beauties with luminous orange lips and burlesque-style ballet moves had the good ol’ boys spilling their Cosmopolitans and Hibiscus Margaritas (their house twist on this legendary cocktail is among my favourites), even as I choked on a delicious side-order of smoked stuffed chicken wings.
On my way back from the bathroom (industrial style that encourages a good gossip and high turnover of phone numbers), a DJ had leapt into the booth behind me and was cranking up a sexy mix of Riviera chic that would get louder as the early hours approached. Whimsical, brash and profoundly memorable, Circus is a rogue performer on the London stage, with a Nicholson-esque smirk on its face and all the confidence to win a standing ovation every time. Since then, if you say ‘circus’, those childhood clowns don’t leap so quickly to mind.
Circus is located at 27-29 Endell Street, Covent Garden,WC2
