Mark’s high-wire act

FORMER pop star and Australian Idol judge Mark Holden is bringing The Greatest Show On Earth to Hobart next week, as he pays homage to his highflying ancestors.

A century ago, crowds would marvel at the deathdefying feats of one-legged acrobat Adolphus Holden — Mark’s great-great uncle — and other members of the renowned Holden Brothers Travelling Circus.

Inspired by tales of the circus’s exploits, Mark has developed the new one-man multimedia production The Greatest Show On Earth, with archival footage providing a mesmerising backdrop to his stories and songs.

The show also delves into Holden’s own showbiz history — from working with the Temptations and David Hasselhoff to Australian Idol and Dancing With The Stars — which has had all the soaring heights and crushing falls of his forebears’ high-wire act.

The Greatest Show on Earth recently premiered at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and was a hit with critics, who called it “an hour and a half of magic” ( Adelaide Advertiser), “a must-see show” ( Event Adelaide) and “a rollercoaster with exceptional highs and lows” ( Glamadelaide). Now it’s coming to Hobart.

“I just want to stand on that Theatre Royal stage, feel the ghosts and have the ghosts speak through me,” Holden told the Mercury while researching the show in Hobart earlier this year. “I’m honouring my forebears but it’s really a time capsule I’m going to send into the future for my unborn grandchildren.

“I’m trying to bring the Holden Brothers Travelling Circus back to life, but in my own way.” Dream Dealers and Wander Productions present The Greatest Show

On Earth at the Theatre Royal from next Saturday, July 21, from 7.30pm. Tickets are $40-$49, go to www.theatreroyal.com.au or phone 62332299 for bookings.