Circus / Cirque Alice. At Canberra Theatre until January 31. Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Taking their inspiration from the Lewis Carroll classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, producers Simon Painter and Tim Carroll have created this extraordinary visual fantasy crammed with sensational acrobatic acts gathered from around the world.

The stunning design for the show has the Canberra Theatre transformed into a huge tent-like environment with strings of coloured lights reaching from high up in the fly tower out into the auditorium. Some audience members are seated onstage around a circular thrust stage, on which the succession of jaw-dropping circus acts take place. 

Directed by Ash Jacks McCready and Kirsty White, the show flows seamlessly, with the acts performed without introduction, but representing a character or event from the Alice story. 

Spectacularly costumed dancers together with soprano Layla Schillert as Alice, and violinist Darious Thompson as The White Rabbit, with a recorded soundtrack of popular classical works, create a hauntingly beautiful visual environment for each presentation.

 Raymond Crowe as The Mad Hatter is the only artist who actually speaks during the performance, but even he relies mostly on his mastery of ventriloquism and shadow puppetry for his delightful audience participation segments.

Outstanding among an extraordinary cast, Mongolian contortionists, Contortion Quartet, representing The Caterpillar, fascinated as they conjured up visions of the multi-legged creature with their mesmerising contortion skills. 

Tanzanian acrobatic duo, the Ramadhani Brothers, as The Knights in the Chess sequence, drew cheers from the audience with for their astonishing head-balancing feats on a precarious ladder, while the Ethiopian duo TT Boys, Tamrata Kuka and Tomas Teka Alemu delighted with their flip expertise as The Tweedles. 

Proving much more active than his sleepy Dormouse namesake, Peruvian rolla bolla expert, Estuart Mena Gonzales had everyone on the edge of their seats as he manipulated his rolla bollas atop a tall table. 

French Duo Emyo, Emeline Goavec and Yoann Benhamou, captured the beauty and grace of the pink flamingos with their dazzling, aerialist skills, while Italian Duo MG Rollerskaters, Daniel Monni and Marina Sabetta, upped the excitement level as The White King and White Queen. 

This is a superbly mounted and executed concept that lifts Cirque Alice into a level of its own as an exceptional showcase for the skills of many of the world’s best circus performers.