It’s the Christmas holidays! Yaaaay! Today we went to the First Cyprus Circus’s Alice in Wonderland show. And, boy, what a trip.

The First Cyprus Circus is located in the vacant plot of land next to the seafront Debenhams in Limassol. We went to the 3pm show. We didn’t need to book in advance – though we tried booking online and by phone but it was a bewildering experience and we weren’t sure it worked.

Anyway, because I hate obstructed views, we paid €18 each for premium seats in the front row. Top Tip: don’t bother. We could have paid €12/€6 for adult/child back row tickets and still had an unobstructed view. For some reason, the circus was practically empty. Maybe the ticket prices have put people off. Or perhaps weekend and evening performances are busier.

The First Cyprus Circus is small but has loos and there’s the Debenhams car park next door you can park in. Plus it sells delicious popcorn – and I’m quite the popcorn connoisseur.

I think Alice in Wonderland was a Russian performance, though the narration was in (at times amusing) English. And, wow, this was the trippiest circus performance I’ve ever been too! If I’d known beforehand, I may have brought vodka with me instead of Stones Ginger Wine. This wasn’t the naff children’s panto I’d expected. The music was brilliant, really dancey. It was hard to stay in my seat. Instead, I restrained myself to vigorous clapping and upper-body bopping.

Pretty soon, as Alice fell down the rabbit hole, the circus ring was filled with strobe lights, dry ice, illuminated pois and people dancing with large geometric shapes. The beginning in particular was awesome.

This was a low-budget production, so don’t expect the Cirque du Soleil. But its success was in its simplicity, its lighting and its music. I liked how the Alice in Wonderland story was used to frame traditional circus acts. The Mad Hatter did some magic tricks, the caterpillar some belly-dancing, and the white rabbit an impressive acrobatic display on silk ropes. There were stilt walkers. The evil Red Queen swung from a hula hoop suspended from the ceiling, her ankles by her ears. Goobie was enraptured.

Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee were the clown figures whose antics had the children roaring with laughter. The performers were so bendy that they had me vowing to work harder in my Pilates classes. I’d love to be that bendy.

Inspired, the children practiced their circus tricks during the 15-minute interval. Children from the audience were invited into the ring to join the performers in hula-hooping and skipping. Goobie categorically said he was NOT going to join them. Shame. Would have been a great photo.

I lost the Alice in Wonderland storyline by the end. The finale was a massive three-rope skipping act where all the characters did increasingly ambitious stunts while skipping. Did this represent Alice’s journey home? Not sure. But who cares? It was fun to watch.

It was a shame there weren’t more people there. A bigger audience would have added to the atmosphere and I felt a bit sorry for the performers who were giving it their all.

The show lasted 90 minutes and finished in perfect time to go out for an early dinner. We went to La Boca in the Columbia Plaza in the Old Town. I love this place. It’s pasta heaven!! I had my favourite, Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola. They also sell pizza. There’s no waiter service, you go up to various counters with a plastic card that is scanned to calculate the cost of your food and you pay for it at the end. You are given a circular thing that flashes when your food is ready. We found this perhaps a little too exciting.

We headed to the motorway and back home via Anexartisias St to admire the impressive Christmas tree outside the town hall. A beautiful and Christmassy end to a fun afternoon.

The First Cyprus Circus’s Alice in Wonderland show is on until 31^st December. You can find details on their Facebook page.