Concert Review - Cirque Bon Bon - Hastings - 19th October 2025

Presented by Hawke's Bay Arts Festival

Review By - Rob Harbers

Artist/Band - Cirque Bon Bon

Venue/City - Toitoi: Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre, Hastings, New Zealand

Date of Event - 19th October 2025

And now, the end is here, and the final curtain sees the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival going out with a bang, in the form of the amazing visual spectacle Cirque Bon Bon. This show was so popular, it ended up being scheduled four times over. From the first minute, it was obvious why, being an entertainment experience to amaze and astound. I said to you 10 days ago it was time to strap in, and this gravity-defying troupe showed why that was necessary.

In an outrageous French accent, MC Mario, Queen of the Circus, (played by Clarke) brought the spirit of Freddie Mercury to life, in a leather ensemble that would’ve done the man proud in his most camp era. The Mercury resemblance proved prescient, with a high proportion of the music being from Queen, which pleased me greatly. The rest came from the amorphous source of obscure cover versions that provides much of the soundtrack to crime dramas (the ones that chop up familiar tunes by changing the vocals and the instrumentation and have you saying about halfway in that “it’s THAT song!). The first Queen moment came with the revelation that ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ is actually about juggling, apparently - it backed an impressive display on Mario’s part, in any case.

A dazzling demonstration of the art of Lyra was provided by the astonishingly lithe and strong Ashleigh, her skills in the high ring absolutely stunning, providing many edge-of-the-seat moments. Equally impressive in strength were Scott and Emma with their floor routine, so much strength in such a tiny frame (regarding Emma, at least). These led in to the truly astounding Shannen, the current world-distance-record holder in her art of archery using the feet. While bent double. Upside down. Digest all that, if you can!

Further calling on the Queen catalogue, Mario recreated Freddie’s famous Rio “E-oh” call-and-response routine before a deep cut, ‘In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited’ backing a bout of unicycle riding, with French audience member Marie on his shoulders (performed to ‘Bicycle Race’).

Having earlier witnessed Mario’s juggling skills, many probably thought that was all to come in that line. Little did we know what the incredible Cody had in store, juggling all manner of items in ever-increasing quantities, even sustaining an epic round of keepy-uppy with his head, while juggling rings and looping them over his head - all making for an intense experience.

With the end of this all-too-short show looming, Mario offered a respite from the lives we were about to return to, in the form of Queen rock opera, again involving an unwitting audience member, one who performed his role of duel participant admirably - or as well as one can when one’s weapon is a banana... You had to be there, OK?

This routine left an astounded and amazed audience in its wake - with jaws on the floor at the sheer artistry and athleticism they’d witnessed, and also many laugh-out-loud moments. A true triumph for the Festival and the art of outright entertainment, an experience that will leave appetites whetted for the next iteration.

For those not fortunate enough to reside in our beautiful part of the motu, I feel sorry for you, I truly do. But aside from that, if you do carry this curse, you may yet be able to escape the worst of it by attending the troupe’s further performances at various points, given these appearances are part of a larger nationwide tour.

Otherwise, I’m sure they’ll return in future from their home across the Tasman. When they do, be there!