Circus Of Horrors - Pavilion Theatre

THIS was not for those of a nervous disposition, they warned, almost daring us to hold on for what promised to be a bumpy ride.

Were we the freaks if we couldn't handle this nightmarish parade of oddities?

Were we the weirdoes if we couldn't bear the full two hours of gut-wrenching, grotesque, macabre and sickening sights that were to blast our senses?

Thirteen years on the road and the Circus of Horrors still draws an audience of inquisitive, usually young adult, onlookers.

But last night's show overstepped the boundaries of entertainment at times.

The Elephant Man would have battled for star billing with this motley crew.

The dwarf in a kilt with a penchant for dropping his trousers not only opened a bottle of beer with his eye socket, used a potty and then threw the contents at the audience but "entertained" us by sticking his manhood in a vacuum nozzle to the "Shake and Vac" theme.Yuk!

Meanwhile, the man with the world's stretchiest skin pulled his neck over his mouth and a man with a tattooed head stuck spikes through his face and dangled from meat hooks in his back.

Master of ceremonies Doktor Haze tied it all together with a commentary of black comedy although I found the sight of him apparently slitting a woman's throat just too authentic and disturbing.

A big cast with a diverse range of traditional circus skills and the live rock band ensured this was a big, impressive production but it was certainly not for the faint-hearted.