About the show
Direct from New York, The Flying Karamazov Brothers are four entertainers who are comedians, musicians, acrobats, dancers and jugglers. Armed with kilts, moustaches, musical instruments, two thousand cardboard boxes, swords, tutus and charismatic wit, they create music and rhythms through their juggling, producing incredible visuals and tackling extraordinary and hilarious stunts.
‘Cleverness and comedy’
New York Times
New Vaudeville is the best description for the Flying Karamazov Brothers, with the quartet’s wide-ranging shows incorporating juggling everything that comes to hand, sometimes to a conventional narrative, often going off on flights of fantasy and sometimes backed by a full-scale orchestra.
One of their great trademark acts is a trick called The Challenge in which The Champ (played by Paul Magid, producer, director and co-founder) will juggle any three items provided by the audience within a specified set of rules.
‘Hilarious, thrilling and beautiful’
Bloomberg News
The show delights all audiences worldwide: adults, students, television personalities, hoodies, disgraced politicians, politicians who have yet to be disgraced, bank managers, children (but only the smartest, most serious ones), landed gentry, crash landed gentry, nerds, birds, pseudo-intellectuals, Martians, musicians and other animals.
It won’t be long before they’re off again, mesmerising some royal family or other in a far-flung land. Can you bear to miss them on this rare visit to London??
The Challenge
They also perform a trick called “The Challenge” in which “the Champ” (portrayed traditionally by Ivan Karamazov, but more recently by Dmitri under advice from Ivan’s doctor) will juggle any three items provided by the audience. The objects are chosen by the audience’s applause. The objects provided must conform to the following rules:
- Must weigh more than an ounce (28 grams)
- Must weigh less than 10 pounds (4.5 kg)
- Must be no bigger than a breadbox
- Must not be a live animal
- Must not be able to stop the “Champ” from being a live animal
“The Champ” is also permitted to make no more than three modifications to the selected items (in total) to make them more manageable. If The Champ can juggle the items for a count of ten, he wins a standing ovation from the audience; if he fails in three tries, he receives a pie in the face.