Blizzard is fantastique – Flip Fabrique triumph at Brighton Dome

Blizzard – Flip Fabrique
Photos by Emmanuel Burriel

FLIP Fabrique’s Blizzard launched its first night at Brighton Dome last night on 27^th December. The perfect post-Christmas to come out and see this seasonal theatrical circus show. This is one of those rare shows that left the packed venue dazed with pleasure, glee, hoarse from whooping, and sore from clapping so much throughout this 75-minute epic performance.

The venue was packed full of families for the launch of this new transatlantic show event. Playing the Dome over these in-between festive days, this Québec-based contemporary circus company delivers something far richer than seasonal spectacle: a joyful, poetic and deeply human piece of live performance that absolutely smashed it.

The small but perfectly formed troupe, incorporated equipment, music, pure talent, and laughter, whilst offering the audience multiple opportunities to be astonished by what the human body can do.

Set in the depths of winter, Blizzard takes the cold as its starting point and turns it into a playground. Snowballs bounce, blizzards swirl, and the stage becomes a constantly shifting landscape of physical invention. There’s a strong vein of old-school physical comedy running through the show, echoing 1920s slapstick and silent cinema, which showcases key performers’ theatrical abilities, but it’s paired with extraordinary athleticism and contemporary circus skill.

Gags are visual, bodily and exquisitely timed, often landing in the middle of something technically jaw-dropping. I accidentally whooped involuntarily at one point after successful completion of a particularly challenging acrobatic delivery.

The sheer range of disciplines on display is remarkable. There is glowing hula-hooping used inventively and in ways that feel freshly reimagined, juggling with bouncing snowballs that ricochet unpredictably around the stage, as well as cigar boxes, trampoline work used to awe-inspiring effect, roller booting, human pyramids and beautifully balletic Acro balance.

An impressive amount of equipment has been shipped over from Canada and put fully to use, but the real focus is always on the performers themselves. Their bodies are the main instruments here, and they are used with confidence, precision and astonishing strength.

These are superb athletes, every one of them, performing genuinely death-defying feats with what looks like ease, accompanied by some well-toned muscles from the level of practice. Yet Blizzard doesn’t feel cold or clinical; the show displays this technicality, but with a grin. The ensemble work is tight, trusting and generous, full of warmth and mischief. Audience interaction is threaded throughout, light-touch and playful, drawing the room into the experience, which is ageless and enjoyable to all. The result is an atmosphere that feels collective, buoyant and infectious.

Music is performed live by the cast on a light-up piano and ukulele, adding another layer of intimacy and charm, alongside a soundtrack evocative of an Antarctic snowstorm with intermittent connection. Costume changes become part of the joke, props transform unexpectedly, and the whole show feels handmade rather than over-polished. Both dialogue and performance move fluidly between French and English, but language is never a barrier; this is a show that communicates through movement, rhythm and shared laughter.

The energy in the room was electric. I whooped, I cheered, I clapped until my hands hurt. Everyone I spoke to afterwards loved it. There’s also an unavoidable festive moment of self-awareness: they clearly haven’t been eating mince pies this Christmas. I have. There is no possible universe in which I could do any of this.

Blizzard is funny, inventive, life-affirming and deeply joyful. It’s the perfect Twixtmas treat: uplifting, generous and just the right side of spectacular. If you need reminding of how exhilarating live performance can be, go and see it. You’ll leave lighter than you arrived. Even the grumpy teens will love this.

Fantastique!