Rupert Christiansen

Not an experience you’d want to repeat: Shen Yun, at the Eventim Apollo, reviewed

The speed of the costume changes was more impressive than any of the dancing

Shen Yun dancers rehearsing. Photo: Scott Varley / Digital First Media / Torrance Daily Breeze / Getty Images

If you live in London, you may well have spotted Shen Yun’s enormous candy-coloured posters on the Underground, endorsed by puffs from authorities proclaiming the show to be ‘very, very on top’ and ‘an exemplary display of excellence’. This primitive advertising strategy seems to have worked: on the night I went, the Hammersmith Apollo (capacity around 3,500) was filled to the gills, the crowd made up of the same social mix that you might find at the Cirque du Soleil.

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