Inside: A review of the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth. Press tickets.
I love the circus, I have such happy memories of going with my parents when I was younger and we’ve been to a few since I’ve had my own children. We’d never been to the one in Great Yarmouth though so I was excited to see what it would be like.
The Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth is the last remaining circus building in the country and is home to the world famous water spectacular. It hosts 4 shows each year, with an Easter show, Summer Spectacular, Halloween Show and Christmas event.
We were invited along to the Summer Spectacular show as part of a visit to Great Yarmouth and we had the most amazing time!
The Hippodrome Circus Great Yarmouth
The Hippodrome was built in 1903 by circus showman George Gilbert and is now Britain’s only surviving total circus building. It is now owned by The Jay Family, with Peter Jay restoring it in 1981 when he put on his first produced circus show.
The Hippodrome is also home to a museum although this is currently closed due to covid restrictions. It sits just behind the main road along the seafront, right near The SEA LIFE Centre and Big Wheel.
Ticket prices start at £13 for a child and £21 for an adult which I think is really reasonable. Once you have shown your tickets you head inside where you can buy drinks and popcorn as well as various light-up toys for the kids to wave around in the dark. I was expecting them to be expensive but they start at £4 which I thought was a bargain – especially as I have three kids!
Summer Circus & Water Spectacular
I had no idea of what to expect, but I will tell you now it is the best Circus I have ever been to. Ever.
Straight away, with the opening sequence, we were hooked. Playing the theme song from The Greatest Showman and showing off amazing dance routines they really had our attention.
As you would expect from a circus, there are plenty of tricks to be seen. My favourites are always those that use the ropes and hoops up high to show their aerial acrobatics.
The children loved the magic acts – I will never understand how those ladies hide themselves away! Absolutely amazing!
One of my favourite parts of the show was the motorbike act. I won’t spoil it by telling you too much but all 5 of us had our jaws on the floor watching it. The bravery and skill involved is beyond impressive.
The show about 2 hours long but is broken up into two halves, with a 20 minute intermission to allow for toilet breaks and refreshments. It also allows for the staff to transform the ring ready for the second half. At this point all I knew was that it was advertised as a water spectacular – I had no idea …
The second half of the show saw the carpet taken up from the floor and water jets aimed at the middle. We were then treated to some water fun from the dancers and a gorgeous display from a contemporary dancer as shown above.
We were then distracted by a little movie clip from Peter Jay and a comedy sketch on a side stage. All the time something was happening within the ring.
I am not going to spoil it for you though, you will have to go see for yourself. But honestly, it was amazing and I have been recommending it to everyone I speak to. Without this final surprise the show was amazing, but with it, it was incredible.
Jack Jay and Jonny Mac
I have to write about these two separately as honestly, they really made the circus for me. So often you still have the ‘clown act’ at a circus and while children may still find this funny, as an adult it is just not that entertaining these days, is it?
Well, Jack and Jonny were hilarious. I was genuinely laughing each time they came on stage with their banter and theatrics.
You could tell they really had fun themselves too, with Jonny making himself laugh a couple of times with so ad lib moments.
Covid Precautions
At the time of visiting the national restrictions had been lifted but all staff were still wearing masks (besides the performers). Hand sanitiser was made available and staff were quick to get you seated.
The arena is large enough that I didn’t feel like I was too close to anyone else (side note: the seats are arranged in such a way that you don’t risk having a tall person blocking your view).
Show Times
The Summer show is open until September 19th 2021 and runs every day with shows at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
They also offer socially distanced shows every Tuesday for their 7.30pm showing.
If you are looking for a great day out then Great Yarmouth has so much to offer. The Hippodrome Circus is a must-see while you are there – we will definitely be going back to check out their other shows!
Find out more here: hippodromecircus.co.uk