REVIEW: Fête du Puck at Revel Puck Circus Winter Festival in Walthamstow Village 4th Dec – 4th Jan 2026
'The Revel Puck Circus is bijou, accessible, committed to community engagement, and very good fun.’ ★★★★
Set up in Walthamstow’s Town Square, there is a Big Top. It’s quite a small Big Top, but nonetheless, it’s a circus tent. It’s the home of Revel Puck’s Winter Festival from now until January 4th next year. The Revel Puck Circus is bijou, accessible, committed to community engagement, and very good fun. They have brought two different shows to Walthamstow, a show for little ones called The Ugly Duckling which the company describes as ‘a Circus Story’, and the circus show proper – seven performers, loads of routines, not much glitter or edge of the seat thrill-seeking, but colourful, good-natured, and well executed. Seeing acrobatics and slack wire acts performed a couple of rows away, by performers who don’t look as other-worldly as many such acts, who occasionally mess up but always get back on the horse and achieve the desired result, is a refreshing experience. Children aren’t looking up into the heavens with a look of awestruck wonder, they are looking straight ahead at friendly performers on a slightly raised platform, wearing clothes that are colourful but that might come from a high-street shop. It’s a very refreshing, very engaging way to do circusing.
The pick of the acts is a young gymnast, wheeled onstage on a large sofa reading a book, who proceeds to turn herself into a human pretzel, her toes turning the page from behind her head, all the while studying the book with great attention. It is beautifully done but very low key, so that after a few minutes you start to think that anyone could walk round furniture on their hands. But anyone can’t. The skills so lightly worn are impressive, the pacing is top notch, the smiles are infectious.
The company has made its home in Walthamstow several times before, and likes being there. They have delivered a show that is quick-fire, fun, and accessible. Circus can be many things, but the Pucks have made a family friendly entertainment. It may lead to people signing on to learn circus skills rather than leaving the smell of sawdust and popcorn with wonder on their sticky faces, but that sounds like a very good outcome, if it leads to performances as enjoyable as this.
Find full details of the event on Revel Puck’s website here https://www.revelpuckcircus.com/winterfestival
