IT’S hard for a circus to pull in the crowds in these recession-hit times - especially now the days of lions, tigers and bears are long gone - but the Big Top on Bristol’s Durdham Down had its fair share of thrill seekers last night as the Moscow State Circus rolled into town with its ‘Babushkin Sekret’ show.

Circuses have been forced to move with the times, and the modern shows like to have a plot to bind the acts together, combining both classical and modern circus styles. In this case, the Russians have been inspired by the legend of ‘The 12 Chairs’, and although the narrative introduction left the audience slightly bemused, it wasn’t long before the cast of Russia’s most talented circus artists had the audience hypnotised with their incredible acts.

The gist of the story is that in early Soviet Russia in 1927, a former member of nobility is desperately trying to track down the family jewellery that had been hidden from the Bolsheviks in one of the 12 chairs from the family’s dining room set. This is Valerik, seemingly combining the roles of ring master and clown, together with his sidekick Valik the clown, who try to track down the chairs with a little help from his fellow circus comrades. True, the clowns are nowhere near as foolish as we are perhaps used to - just one of them, Valik, adorned his face with the familiar stage make-up - but performers have been forced to move with the times, and I think the gamble has paid off.

Despite some technical difficulties in the first half (the appalling rain outside could well have had something to do with the repeated electrical failures), highlights included the beautiful Yana Alievia on a revolving aerial chandelier; the unbelievable vertical pole balancing of The Alikhanov Wanderers and the juggling Shcherbakovs on the reverse pyramid of St Petersburg.

The second half, however, certainly raised the bar, as The S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S. performed the most breathtaking and difficult high wire act, followed up by the high flying bouncing bamboo bravados of The Perushkins and the flying jesters known as the Rubtsov Acrobats who acrobatically catapult themselves across and high into the big top at breakneck speed.

Every family needs a visit to the circus once in a while, and the Moscow State Circus has probably the best non-animal performers in the world. Miss them and miss out.

The Moscow State Circus ‘Babushkin Sekret’ Show is on at Durdham Down, Bristol, until Sunday, October 14 (no shows Monday 8).