Review: COME ALIVE! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular (Empress Musem)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for – The Greatest Showman on stage… sort of. You’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the official musical adaptation currently in the works by Disney, but in the meantime the much-loved movie makes its presence felt in London with the launch of Come Alive – The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular at the newly launched Empress Museum. Aiming to bring something different to London audiences and fill a gap in the theatre scene, the question we are all of course wondering is would this really be the greatest show?

The purpose of Come Alive is not to recreate the plot of the movie but instead celebrate those now iconic songs featured in The Greatest Showman along with dancing and, of course, circus. If you are looking for a plot here, you’d need super-vision as that is thinner than the tightrope used in the show. That said, there are a number of ways to look at Come Alive – as a show and as an overall experience. This is a production where the conventional star system may not apply, due to the varying elements of it all, but as I’m unable to rewrite the stars… system, let’s give it a go anyway.

To begin with the experience aspect, having taken over the space in February of this year, the Come Alive team have done an impressive job working their magic to transform this empty space into the Empress Museum. The grandeur of the space impresses as soon as you arrive (a stone’s throw from West Brompton station for anyone wondering) and the scale of the design continues to impress the moment you set foot inside.

With Come Alive, you are not coming simply for the main show, but everything that happens before. There is plenty to explore from the moment doors open with magicians and mediums encouraging you to interact with them and performers continually milling around, ensuring there is always something thrilling for your eyes to focus on at any given moment. Turning a corner will always throw you a new surprise, whether it’s a performer bouncing in the air or a troupe of them transforming themselves into an elephant.

With bars, a diner, merchandise stand and no shortage of photo opportunities, there is no shortage of things to keep you entertained before the show starts and ensure you walk in to the main show already full of delight. With that in mind, I would encourage getting to Come Alive as soon as the doors open to make the most of your experience.

When it is time to enter the Big top, you are split into four zones in what feels like a fairly intimate space given that it can hold 700 people. With all seats having a great sightline and every inch of the space used in the show, there won’t be a bad seat in the house (although the less said about the legroom, the better).

I spoke before about the “plot” (or lack thereof) so to quickly recap - the basic premise of Come Alive sees the Showman take a shy young roustabout named Max under his wing in a bid to make her discover her true potential. Essentially, this device is used to attempt to weave a narrative between the songs though it does feel a bit unnecessary at times. I doubt anyone is visiting this show expecting a plot – indeed, they are here for the spectacular, but the attempt to crowbar some narrative into it does do a disservice to the quality of the rest of the show. As this show attempts to combine the worlds of theatre and circus, it is a shame that this theatre element is overlooked as a bit more semblance of a plot could have done wonders to making this feel even more special. It is a shame as the cast try hard with the material but it’s hard to ascertain the sense behind the journey of The Showman, as well as the relationship between Max and her love interest.

In a packed two hours (including interval), circus performers impress leaping into the air, walking the tightrope and literally playing with fire in a continually thrilling production that succeeds in its aim of bringing the very best in circus to town. This is live theatre and so there were a few stumbles on the night but I’m sure the production will end up slicker as it progresses. The combination of exciting props and set design by Ruby Law, gorgeous costumes by Susan Kulkarni and intense lighting from Adam Bassett gives Come Alive a beautiful aesthetic… and that’s before we even get into the sound accompanying it.

The music from The Greatest Showman written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have taken on a life of their own since the film first premiered in 2017. ‘The Greatest Show’, ‘This Is Me’, ‘Never Enough’, ‘Rewrite The Stars’ and ‘A Million Dreams’ have all troubled the charts and become classics in their own right, with ‘From Now On’ taking on a new sense of poignancy in the years theatres were closed for Covid, as it became an unofficial anthem for performers longing to “come back home”. All of these numbers are present in the show, incorporated into the action and performed by some fine singers led by Simon Bailey as the Showman and Aaliya Mai as Max. Simon is wonderfully commanding on numbers including ‘From Now On’ while Aaliya shines on ‘Rewrite The Stars’. Of course, the title track ‘Come Alive’ is present too – being performed three times in fact. Well, you know what they say - never enough!

The leading players are accompanied by four supremely talented West End stars in the form of Jaz Ellington, Charlotte-Hannah Jones, Whitney Martins and Fallon Mondlane, all exhibiting divine voices, bringing these gorgeous songs to life in a stunning way. ‘Never Enough’ was the greatest showcase of these talents, with their positioning in-between the audience creating a true standout moment. The layout of the big top did result in some sound problems, particularly early on with it not always being possible to distinguish vocals or hear them over the loud and uneven music, though this did settle into itself more as the show progressed. One musical highlight was in the ‘Tightrope’ sequence – perhaps not one of the more memorable numbers from the show, but it was given the chance to come into its own here thanks to staging featuring, you guessed it, a tightrope.

Come Alive builds up into a satisfying finale, encouraging a singalong from a competing audience in the rousing ‘The Greatest Show’. There is something incredibly thrilling about recreating that instantly recognisable opening moment from the song, building into a huge number that ensured every audience member left on a high. With singers, dancers and circus performers united, it was a feast for the senses and a sequence that saved the best for last. With fantastic choreography from Jerry Reeve and Lukas McFarlane, a number like this should be bottled for the amount of joy it is able to provide.

While it is not perfect as a show in itself, as both an experience and a spectacle, Come Alive is spectacular. Fans of The Greatest Showman, the circus and amazing vocals will be in their element here, though anyone wanting more of a story may need to wait a bit longer to see that on stage., What is most impressive is in how well-thought-out and meticulous all the details around the “Museum” were, allowing audiences to step into a world full of wonders. Is it the greatest show? Not quite, to be honest - it is brave, it is bruised, it is what it's meant to be - and that is a production guaranteed to entertain audiences of all ages. With no humbug to be found, Come Alivve is sure to inspire a million dreams among all who step inside.

Come Alive – The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular is currently booking at the Empress Museum until 30th March 2025. Tickets from  www.comealiveshow.com 

Photos by Luke Dyson