La Ronde @ NAFA 2026 – 26th September

Strut & Fret’s La Ronde has settled into its Spiegeltent residency as NAFA 2026’s premium collision of cabaret, circus and comedy: glamorous, cheeky, breathlessly physical and just dangerous enough to make the front row sit a little straighter. Performed on a small round stage in the centre of the tent, the show understands the particular thrill of proximity. No one is ever very far from the action, and that is very much the point.

Entrances and exits spill through the audience, glances are shared, shoulders are brushed, and occasionally, if you are lucky, you may even receive a quick massage from David, the evening’s gloriously odd comic disruptor, as he prowls through the opening moments like mischief in human form.

The international cast brings a generous inventory of circus pleasures: daring aerial work, rings, hoops, hula, balancing acts, tasteful stripping and, because restraint is overrated, a ladder set on fire. The staging gives the audience a clear view of every risk, flex and flourish; the ripped bodies on display are not so much incidental as part of the architectural design. Yet the show rarely feels merely showy. Its best moments combine athletic precision with a wink, allowing danger and camp to share the same spotlight.

Musically, La Ronde leans into the pleasures of the 1980s and disco, then gives them a contemporary twist. The numbers have the glossy pulse of a nightclub and the theatrical swagger of a late-night fever dream. A dark, industrial take on Kiss’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” is especially effective, taking a familiar anthem and smudging eyeliner all over it. The show’s songstress adds another layer of smoky glamour, holding the room with vocal authority while the chaos circles around her.

For all the aerial ambition and muscular spectacle, my personal favourite was David’s clowning. Visually, he lands somewhere between Uncle Fester and Keith Flint from The Prodigy, if either had been raised by a family of deranged vaudevillians. His genius lies in how much comic voltage he can generate from objects that should, by rights, have limited theatrical potential: balloons, a wooden spoon, darts, ping-pong balls and a toilet plunger. In David’s, it becomes a riot of anticipation, recoil and expertly managed stupidity.

Twice, he recruited unsuspecting Brett from the audience, who proved an admirably good sport and an unexpectedly essential assistant. The resulting business with apples and spiked crotchwear was hilarious in precisely the way good cabaret should be. That is part of La Ronde’s charm.

Strut & Fret know how to build an atmosphere, and the Spiegeltent gives the whole affair the intimacy of a secret club without taking home an STI (considering the current syphilis outbreak here!) While you're there, do not forget to order the signature cocktail, the Poloma, from the bar, to sip on while the eye candy unfolds before your eyes. Whether you take a partner or a bunch of friends, this is a fun night out you’ll laugh about long after the curtain closes.