Zippos is widely considered one of the best touring circuses in Europe, though in its current state it is hard to see why. For a company capable of producing something as sharp as Cirque Berserk at Winter Wonderland, this feels like a noticeable step down.

The music is too quiet, the acts bring little that feels fresh, and the clowning falls flat. There is so little sense of build or momentum that, at points, I genuinely considered leaving early.

Zippos also seems more concerned with filling seats than managing the experience, allowing latecomers in as far as the second act while others had already spent more than twenty minutes waiting outside past the advertised door time.

If the show struggled to generate energy, the audience did little to help. It was one of the most disruptive crowds I have sat through. People talked throughout, wandered in and out, and although filming and photography were encouraged, there was little regard for anyone else’s view. At one point, two women in front of me stood up to push reluctant children towards the ringside barrier for a photo, only for the act to have moved on by the time they had finished fussing.

There were, however, moments that worked. Gean’s routine on a series of pedal-powered cycles was genuinely entertaining and more visually impressive than it sounds, making full use of the space in a way much of the show did not.

The Act One finale offered a reminder of what circus can do well. A Globe of Death routine will almost always deliver, and although this version felt pared back, with three riders and no split cage, it still managed to generate one of the few real reactions of the night.

More than anything, the show suffers from a lack of atmosphere. There is little buzz inside the modest big top, large sections of the tent sit in darkness, and the lighting and LED screen add very little. What should feel lively and immersive instead feels oddly hollow.

For a live circus, that absence of energy is hard to ignore.