Brighton Fringe Review: THE GIANT BALLOON SHOW, WundaBarn At The SpiegelGardens

“Do you really want me to risk my life for your entertainment?”

When a show begins with a content warning about balloons, ‘80s music and danger, you know you’re in for an interesting one. The Giant Balloon Show, performed by Dizzy O’Dare, mixes balloon tricks with a playlist from the 1980s to make a show for all ages, but there’s one catch - the actual giant balloon doesn’t appear until the end of the performance. A bit misleading, but what can one do?

Indeed, instead of just being a show dedicated to one giant balloon, O’Dare uses quite a few different balloons that he pulls from a miniature cabinet at the back of the stage. A whole segment is dedicated to him simply letting go of or popping balloons, and he teaches the audience to celebrate - not scream - when a balloon pops, having one member of the audience whistle and everyone do the Wave. 

The show’s description promises “high-energy comic performance,” and O’Dare certainly delivers on that. Even before the show begins he is already encouraging people to get up on stage and dance! That level of energy never stops and it is impressive to see how long O’Dare is able to stay energised, even when the audience may not be as impressed with the tricks as he had expected. Kudos to O’Dare for giving credit to not only his tech team but to the entire Front of House team, something that is unfortunately rare to hear at shows like this. 

There is quite a bit of audience participation, especially for the children. Two are assigned the role of being the show’s official photographers, with O’Dare giving them a balloon sculpture of a camera to take photos throughout the hour. Another child is given a bin bag and is told to pick up pieces of balloons that have been popped or let go of. One is even brought up on stage to be transformed into a balloon sculpture!

O’Dare does struggle sometimes to get a handle on the younger members of the audience, which leads to some changes in the show. When O’Dare selects one child to come on stage and dance while he performs some balloon tricks, other children begin running up as well until the stage is full of participants. It’s a bit chaotic and takes away from the experience that the one young audience member was supposed to be given due to a lack of control. Luckily for O’Dare, the danger that comes with the final segment of the show is heavily emphasised so no one runs on stage, but I will admit I was quite worried something was going to happen.

Finally, the show reaches the point that everyone has been waiting for - the entrance of the giant balloon. There are two warnings about this part of the show. One is about the actual dangers if anyone goes up on stage, with O’Dare emphasising the importance of safety. The other warning? “This part of the show is very, very stupid.” And indeed, it is quite stupid, but it is also quite fun, including a surprising costume change that resulted in O’Dare being banned from Dubai (apparently a true story)! 

Ultimately, The Giant Balloon Show is a silly and fun show for children and their families, giving them a space to dance and have fun while getting to see some balloon tricks. O’Dare will have kids and adults alike partying down the aisles as he wows them with some impressive balloon displays, making for a memorable afternoon in Brighton. 

The Giant Balloon Show ran from 4 May - 1 June at the WundaBarn at The SpiegelGardens at the Brighton Fringe Festival. 

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