After an unseasonably warm few weeks fired by a hot Saharan blast, autumn is finally upon us and thoughts meander back to summer frolics and the bucket-and-spade family entertainment that took me right back to more innocent times in short trousers. Some people may remember Seaside Special on the box during the seventies and eighties. I know I do. It was a Saturday night fixture in our house.
Our first 2023 seaside special was the award-winning Cromer Pier Show at the Pavilion Theatre. For my sins, I was expecting something fun but just a little bit naff. How wrong was I? What we got was a spectacular and lavish vaudeville-on-sea variety show with crackin’ tunes, crackin’ vocals, belly laughs and juggling genius, all wrapped up in sequins and feathers.
If that wasn’t enough to set the pulse racing, nothing could prepare us for the Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth, Britain’s last remaining circus building. Seemingly untouched by the modern world, the theater reeks of old-style, time-worn charm – the toilets alone are a riot of Victorian bling. But there was nothing faded about the show. Featuring top-notch acts from around the world, it was full-on, edge-of-the-seat stuff. And it doesn’t get any more full-throttle than four leather-clad bikers playing ‘catch me’ around a metal cage. For the grand finale, the stage fell away to reveal a swimming pool and the show was brought to a splashing close by a shoal of fancy ladies doing a Busby Berkeley number surrounded by fit blokes in tight wet shirts. It felt like I was on drugs.
For more exciting images, check out the Hippodrome’s own website. Many thanks to our fellow village people who invited us along for the rides. You know who you are.
