'I went to the circus for the first time at Birmingham NEC’s Winter Funland - I had no idea what I was missing' - REVIEW
Journalist Mark Morris visits the NEC’s Winter Funland, the UK’s largest indoor fairground, and finds an unexpectedly impressive circus at the heart of it.
At the age of thirty-nine, I had never been to a circus performance. I have no idea why. I love the performing arts, but somehow the circus was one of those things I simply never got around to.
That changed this week when I visited Winter Funland at the NEC, Birmingham on its opening day with my children - and it has genuinely transformed my view of what a circus can be.
Winter Funland, billed as the UK’s largest indoor fairground with a circus and giant ice rink, has returned to the NEC for the festive season, running from December 6 to January 3.
But while the rides, ice rink and food stalls fill an enormous hall, it was the circus that caught me completely off guard.
A circus that redefined my expectations
The show delivers roughly half an hour of high-energy performance, and it was far more thrilling than I expected. Extreme stunts, a first-rate magician who levitated a young volunteer, and moments of genuine jeopardy kept both adults and children captivated.
What surprised me most wasn't how much I enjoyed it, but the way my seven-year-old son sat utterly jaw-dropped for almost the entire performance.
There was a real sense of danger as a performer skipped rope atop the spinning Space Wheel - no wonder it’s also known as the Wheel of Death.
