A trip to a circus of any kind always involves the expectation of acrobats tumbling and hopefully a daring young man on the flying trapeze, but this is no run of the mill sawdust ring circus act.

A breathtaking cacophony of spellbinding contortionists, electrifying acrobatics and soaring aerial performers, Le Grand Cirque combined the incredible with the bizarre and the downright unbelievable to keep me on the edge of my seat for the whole show.

There's something quite moving about watching the human body pushed to extremes that you can't believe are possible and yet are somehow happening feet away from you.

I found myself clutching my seat as a troupe of brightly coloured acrobats threw themselves between poles towering above the stage, skidding to heart stopping halts inches from the floor.

And I watched with my heart in my mouth as silvery men dived like flying fish through hoops feet in the air, landing and sliding salamander-like around the stage.

You honestly couldn't believe that they were human beings, they were more like quicksilver liquid mercury bubbling through the air like silk.

But it is always the aerial performances that I find most impressive and I couldn't help but wipe away a tear as the troupe soared above our heads.

Tiny yet impossibly strong girls twirled through the air held up apparently by sheer willpower and men as graceful as ballerinas, but with gladiatorial strength dangled by their fingertips.

The whole show was held together by the 'ringmaster', part clown, part mime and an impressively strong tumbler himself, he silently explained and entertained, providing welcome comic relief with not an element of crassness among the rest of the wide-eyed, nail biting performances.

My companion and I left the theatre exhausted and starry eyed, completely mesmerised and unable to stop reliving the evening's entertainment in fine detail for a good few hours.

A real treat for kids, adults and anyone in between, I defy anyone to not be glued to their seats for this most impressive of shows.

Le Grand Cirque comes to the Theatre Royal, Brighton from Tuesday September 16 until Saturday 20. Evening performances start at 7.45 pm with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30 pm.

Tickets cost £14-£24 and are available from the box office on: 08700 606 650 or online at: www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyal