Come Alive! Review – The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular in London ★★★★ | West End Theatre (2025)

It’s not often the title of a show is so long that it’s practically a review – but Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular is not taking any chances.

Spun out of the hugely popular movie The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman, Come Alive! is a fabulous opportunity to hear a selection of Pasek and Paul’s mighty anthems from the movie – and then some.

The producers of the show, led by creative director Simon Hammerstein (yes, of those Hammersteins), have lavished the “Spectacular” bit of the title, bringing together musical theatre performers, singers, dancers, and circus performers for a night of revelry.

And when all of those things come together, especially during the big set pieces, then it’s unlike anything else on stage in London at the moment, and a wildly fun evening.

West End performer Simon Bailey leads the proceedings as the Greatest Showman, doing his best to tread a line between circus ringleader and star of a show. He is more than ably assisted by Aaliya Mai as young woman Max, who has a fantastic voice that soars in the second act when she’s finally allowed to sing, belting out hits like “This is Me”.

The show’s four backing singers – Jason Brock, Jaz Ellington, Whitney Martins and Fallon Mondlane are the musical backbone of the evening, providing a glamorous presence and voices that literally raise the roof of the Big Top.

A range of accomplished circus performers put on a great show: it’s exciting to see circus in the space it’s designed for, and up-close in a relatively intimate venue. Highlights included a perilous see-saw routine, stunning aerial acrobatics, and a tightrope walker extraordinaire.

In terms of story, I was going to say that you could fit the plot onto a postage stamp, but postage stamps are actually huge these days.

There is a plot in there somewhere: Young woman Max enters into the world of the Greatest Showman. There’s a boyfriend. There’s lots of Max running urgently from one side of the stage to the other. She even becomes the Greatest Showman at one point.

I know it was never going to be about the story, although its lack of coherence does feel like a missed opportunity to elevate the show into something that has legs to travel. The production may have benefitted from a theatre director at the helm.

One of the most exciting things about Come Alive! is the whole night’s experience. As you enter the venue there’s a museum vibe with giant circus posters and a glass-cased Greatest Showman exhibit, before you break through into an extraordinary bar area, and then a series of circus-themed activities built around the outside of the Big Top arena.

There’s fortune telling, there’s face painting, there’s acrobatics, and plenty of food and drink. It’s all done incredibly well, and adds hugely to the overall experience.

Given that Disney has announced a new stage adaptation of The Greatest Showman movie – probably coming to London in 2026, it feels like Come Alive! is on borrowed time, and just nipping in with a new take on the IP before the real thing arrives.

But Come Alive! is defiantly its own spectacular thing, and there’s absolutely nothing else like it in London.

The advertising standards authority won’t be coming after Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular anytime soon… it’s exactly what it says it is. And audiences are going to love it.

★★★★

Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular is now playing at the Empress Museum in London, booking to 30 March 2025.

Book tickets to Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular at the Empress Museum, London.

📷Main photo: Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular. Photo by Luke Dyson