I was probably doubly outside the target demographic for Naughties. I wasn’t a teenage girl in the noughties, indeed I wasn’t a teenager at all, but you don’t necessarily need to have spent the decade clutching a flip phone and listening to Britney Spears to appreciate what Australian company YUCK Circus does here.
The Palais du Variété is an excellent venue for this. A runway pushes deep into the centre of the lofty tent, while the considerable height above provides an ideal playground for the aerial work. Having previously endured the rather laddish Stamptown in this same space, Naughties proved a considerable improvement. Five women showed how this sort of circus cabaret can be done, with skill, personality and, appropriately enough, plenty of girl power.
Georgia Deguara holds everything together particularly well as MC, tottering around on enormous platform shoes with exactly the right level of laid-back professionalism. If anything, the opening feels a little too laid-back. The early noughties references initially seem slightly lazy, leaving me wondering whether YUCK might have been doing this material for the last twenty years. But then, the show promises the noughties and that’s precisely what it delivers, from Britney and boy bands to Backstreet Boys and emo culture.
More importantly, the circus steadily shifts through the gears. Skipping and ensemble acrobatics give way to some excellent aerial work, with the silks, accompanied by Evanescence, providing one of the evening’s highlights. The strength work and human pyramids are slickly accomplished, but for me the standout is the hula hoop routine, technically impressive while retaining the humour and personality running through the entire show.
This isn’t circus presented with furrowed brows and an insistence that we admire how dangerous everything is. The five performers understand that personality matters as much as technique, and the music, comedy and circus combine to create a genuinely infectious atmosphere.
Naughties may take a little while to warm up, but once these five Australian women get going, there is very little wrong with it. Perhaps girl power has aged rather better than the platform shoes.
Playing until August 30th 2026, https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/2026YUCKCIR
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 22nd August 2026
North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating:
Running time – 1hr