SIX ACROBATS. ONE WINNER. WHO WILL BE THE “NEW FACE OF CIRCUS”?
Get ready for Showdown! This high-energy spectacle combines jaw-dropping circus stunts with razor-sharp humour in a one-of-a-kind competition where the audience decides the winner.
Six fearless contestants push their limits in a no-holds-barred race to the top, all for the promise of a single prize. Showdown playfully unpacks our obsession with winning, asking: What’s worth sacrificing to come out on top? With each round, we dive deeper into the contestants’ drive to succeed, while chaos and surprises keep everyone on their toes.
Packed with audience interaction, clever comedy, and a bold mix of circus, spoken word, UK Hip Hop, Grime, and Afrobeat, Showdown explores the idea of “healthy competition.” Who will you root for to win?
Brought to life by an exceptional team—including Upswing’s Artistic Director Vicki Dela Amedume, rising comedy star Athena Kugblenu, and London-based musician Afrikan Boy—this show is a thrilling mash-up of heart, hilarity, and high-flying talent. Don’t miss it!
Showdown opened in February 2024 for its first run at the Chamäleon Theater in Berlin. See below for 2025 UK tour dates and tickets.
If you’re a venue, festival or promoter, we welcome you to join us on this journey. To show your interest in working on this project with us, email info@upswing.org.uk
Tickets
Showdown will be touring UK festivals and venues in 2025, see dates and ticket links below:
Reviews
“A merciless competition… totally over the top and funny” RBB Kultur
“A talent show satire that cleverly plays with the mechanisms of the format. With a beautiful message, but without indoctrination” Berliner Morgenpost
“I loved it. The highly skilled acrobats perform jaw dropping acts and collectively use the format of the story to convey their lived experiences of being “diverse”. I have seen other shows there in the past but this one was my favourite. If I could give more than 5 stars…I would.” Audience Member
Trailer
Development
Showdown is linked to our other project Common Ground, led by Upswing’s Artistic Director Vicki Dela Amedume, in collaboration with comedian Athena Kugblenu and musician Afrikan Boy.
Over the last two years, Upswing has been working with a range of Global Majority artists to flesh out issues and themes and work out how to use the playful provocation of humour alongside circus movement to address them.
Ahead of the live show, we released an award-winning short film which confront the difficulties we have talking about race and culture in a satire of the casting and rehearsal process.
The videos below give a behind-the-scenes look at how both the show and film have developed over the past two years:
Partners
Co-produced with Chamaleon Theater Berlin
Co-Commissioned by: the Albany Deptford, New Vic Theatre and the Lowry
Supported by: Arts Council England, PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund, Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Cockayne Foundation/The London Community Fund, Horizon: Performance Created in England
Photos by Andy Phillipson
