Underbelly Boulevard, London – until 28 June 2024
Reviewed by Emily Smith
5*****
Sophie’s turning 29 and you’re invited to her surprise house party! Starting as an Edinburgh Fringe production, the show has made its way to London for a short run until June 2024.
Sophie’s party is organised by six of her friends, all stereotypical characters including chavs, a geek, a popular girl, a goth, and a class clown. Katharine Arnold and Cornelius Atkinson are extraordinary aerialists with enviable physiques that are required to pull-off their gravity-defying acts. I also commend Atkinson’s reading of erotic vampire fiction which was hilarious.
Nathan Redwood Price and Isis Clegg-Vinell will have you wide-mouthed, gawping at what they can do on roller skates; their chemistry and partnership is obvious – and no surprise given they’ve spent the last 13 years touring as a duo.
Dru Cripps was the clown of the evening performing improvised songs based on the audience’s jobs with only a loop system to cover his modesty as he was otherwise stark naked! I can’t fault Dru here – he cleverly adapted to the audience’s suggestions – and he worked with what he had!
Josie Jones was an equally impressive performer – she was on fire! Literally! From being twirled around in the air by her hair, to performing a fire routine, she was brilliant.
So… who is Sophie? The answer is – an enigma. By which I mean, an unsuspecting audience member who joins the cast each evening to become ‘Sophie’ – truly a surprise party!
What really stood out for me with the show was the intimate venue size. Seating is ‘in the round’ and is unreserved; there’s a stalls area, a balcony, and a standing area. This means that there is a lot of audience interaction and engagement, both before and during the show. Before the show even began, I had glitter on my face, had eaten some cheesy crisps on offer, been sprayed with Lynx, been given a packet of Love Hearts, and was wearing a party hat – and I loved it!
The references and nods to the 90s, 00s and 10s, will be a real throwback for many of the audience members and it certainly felt more authentic because of it. A ‘pass the parcel’ even appeared at one point! With the small circular stage in the centre, it was also brilliant to watch the front row’s reactions to the stunts being performed in rather close proximity to them!
Now to the soundtrack… If you love ‘Now You’re Gone’ by Basshunter and ‘What’s It Gonna be’ by H20, you’ll be living your best life at this party! In fact… I think someone may have stolen my iPod playlists from the early 2010s…!
While there is little explanation or dialogue throughout to really contextualise the relationships between characters, I don’t think this is an oversight, nor necessary. It is clear what is happening – Sophie’s friends are performing for her at her party – and the storylines that do arise throughout are mainly through brief interactions or the circus acts themselves. These provide real likeability to the characters and you definitely get invested in who they are going to choose to go home with that night!
The running time is 1 hour 30 with interval, so it is a little shorter than other shows – the party could definitely have gone on longer and I doubt anyone wanted to go home!
Sophie’s Surprise 29th is advertised as ‘Circus. Comedy. Chaos.’ and it delivers on these promises. There were incredible circus acts – things I’ve never seen before – and the audience were laughing throughout. The show provides the nostalgia we all desperately need, and a little escapism from daily life!