[ATTENDED: August 3, 2022] Paranormal Cirque
I was in a parking lot in Princeton and I saw a poster for Paranormal Cirque.
My family loves a good Cirque, so I was intrigued. I saw that it was at the Menlo Park Mall (what?). I went to the website and saw their big warning that their Cirque is Rated R.
And this big blurb:
Slow down so you can take it all in…but if you scare easily, you might want to run….as we welcome you into this new world of Paranormal Cirque! Under this Clown Castle, the black and red big top tent, Acrobats of the Air, Illusionists, freaks, mysterious creatures and all the elements that make one think of a “normal” Circus but that of normal has very little! A new show with breathtaking implications always poised between fun and the most uninhibited fear that will transport you to a dark world inhabited by creatures with incredible circus art abilities. A crazy yet fun fusion between Circus, theatre, and cabaret in perfect harmony with the evolution of a show that brings you back to when we dream … and when we had nightmares and fantasies. Scare, encompass, amuse and surprise are the ingredients for a mixture of emotions impossible to forget. This is truly a Paranormal experience like no other.
I knew my son would enjoy it. I assumed my daughter would enjoy it. She is 14, but has been getting into horror movies. I figured my wife would hate it. But I also had to wonder just what exactly made this Rated R.
I mean, they couldn’t do anything especially violent–they couldn’t actually hurt anybody, right? So what made it different from any other cirque?
So, this was indeed at the Menlo Park Mall. But it was set up in the parking lot! You could see it from a long way away. And as you got closer they did a great job of decorating around it with spooky lights and great props all around the entrance.
The biggest difference, and the thing that makes it Rated R, I would say, is that they get to curse. They had a good time throwing out F-bombs. There was also a lot of repeated jokes of the cast members giving audience members the finger. There was also some sexually charged humor–jokes about the size of an muscular dude’s endowment.
The rest of the show was sort of set up like a good old fashioned haunted house. In fact, I kind of wish we hadn’t gone so quickly through the entrance, because it was designed very with twists and turns and there were people behind every turn–there were some good jumps scares. And of course many of them had weapons (and the inevitable chainsaw).
The show itself was pretty great. Similar feats of cirque extravaganza to other cirques, but done in a kind of horror context. Although this one did have a great start right off the bat with a motorcycle on a wire and an acrobat hanging off of something below the bike. I haven’t seen a motorcycle in an act in a long time and I guess having the tent outside makes that possible.
Between acts, they had the performers walk around the stands doing weird things. One time a lady dressed like a creepy doll walked a guy like a dog on a leash. Later that guy on the leash turned out to be a contortionist. The difference with this contortionist and most others that I’ve seen is that he pretended to be an escaped insane patient, so he was covered in blood and was in a cage.
There were feats of strength. There was magic (and the assistants were even more sexually dressed than usual).
There was a very cool device with a large wheel at one end and a small wheel at the other. It’s known as the Wheel of Death or the Space Wheel. The guy did some amazing things on it while the wheel spun faster and faster. He jumped rope and even swung from the large wheel to the small.
My favorite routine involved an audience member and knives. The ringmaster–who was a very funny guy with a thick Jamaican accent–blindfolded himself in front of the audience member and then threw knives at the board he was on. The audience member was also blindfolded so he didn’t see what was going on. The way they dealt with the balloons (like the one that was between his legs) was very funny.
There was also a spectacular surprise reveal ta the end of the show which I didn’t expect and I think the show didn’t even need, but which was awesome nonetheless.
We came away from the show delighted and very pleased with the evening.
There’s nothing really all that scary about it. It’s good that little kids aren’t allowed–it’s noisy and dark and the humor is adult. It’s definitely risque, and a younger teen might not get the jokes or maybe you wouldn’t want them to get the jokes.
The biggest, most difficult thing about the cirque is that everything is for sale. EVERYTHING. Before the show they stand in the aisles selling everything–lights, masks, light up masks, light up drinks, popcorn, cotton candy, light up candy. It’s insane. They come back in the intermission to sell you more stuff.
And on the way out there is a souvenir shop with hats and jackets and some really cool masks. I happened to see that their website had masks for sale and when I asked the guy in the booth if we could buy them online he said no–no online sales. I have tried to buy stuff online and even though there is a link, it doesn’t seem to actually work.
On the way out, I noticed that Paranormal Cirque seems to be run by a company called Cirque Italia, which has a few other performances as well.
If you enjoy acrobatics and spectacle and you don’t mind adult humor and a little scare, Paranormal Cirque is really good time. I would totally go again. And if you go, spend some time to look at all of the cool things that have around the place–the details in the props are really excellent.
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