Step aside, quiet nights in — Sophie’s Surprise 29th is the only party worth crashing at this year’s Fringe. An award-winning fusion of circus, comedy, and sheer chaos, this immersive, absurd, and utterly unforgettable show has returned to the Circus Hub after a smash-hit 2024 run. And this year, it’s as big, weird, and wild as it gets.
The premise? We’re all at Sophie’s birthday party. But who is Sophie? That’s up to the audience to decide because each night, a willing audience member is crowned the birthday girl, and the madness unfolds around them. From the moment you enter the venue, you’re not just watching a show — you’re a guest at a party. The performers mingle with the crowd before the show even begins, handing out party snacks, spraying deodorant down people’s trousers (“gotta get fresh for the party!”), and cracking jokes as if you’ve known each other for years. It’s hilariously unhinged from the very start.
What follows is an hour of controlled chaos. We are presented with world-class circus acts from jaw-dropping aerial hoop, and rope routines to unicycle madness, and roller-skating stunts that should not be humanly possible. These performances are broken up with Twilight fan fiction, karaoke, party games, a cheeky birthday striptease, and plenty of audience participation. This is circus meets house party meets fever dream, with a playlist you’ll want to Shazam every five minutes.
A standout moment? The party’s “drug dealer” slipping biscuits to people as if they were illicit goods, lighting them with a lighter, and puffing on them like joints. At one point, an audience member even helped the naked dealer get dressed while he teetered on a unicycle. Totally nuts, and absolutely brilliant.
The cast — including aerialists Katharine Arnold and Cornelius Atkinson, roller-skating duo Nathan Redwood Price and Emily McCarthy, unicyclist and comedian Sam Goodburn, and hand balancer Kyran Lee — are mind-blowingly talented. These are Cirque du Soleil-level performers, and you can tell they love every second of what they do. Their energy is infectious, and the audience was euphoric from start to finish.
One minute I was doubled over laughing, the next I was holding my breath in disbelief, and by the end, my hands were sore from clapping so hard. Easily a five-star experience. If I could give it six stars, I would. Maybe even seven. And honestly, I’d throw in a bonus star for the biscuit dealer alone. I didn’t want the party to end!
Sophie’s Surprise 29th runs nightly at 21:45 until 23 August at The Beauty, Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows. Get your ticket here and get ready to party.
Image by Roger Robinson, provided by Ashridge Media to The Student as press material.
