Loca Vida takes over the Spiegeltent at Civic Park

Newcastle's festival season has a big name taking centre stage this month, and it comes with a venue that's half the draw. Loca Vida is back in town, running from 4 September right through to 4 October, and it's set up inside the Spiegeltent at Civic Park on King Street. If you've never been, the tent itself is a bit of a story: a late 19th-century Dutch 'Mirrortent' from Belgium, all mirrored poles, velvet and brocade booths, with a history that stretches back to the days of Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, Charlie Chaplin and Kurt Weill. It's the kind of room that does half the work before the show even starts.

The show is produced by Strut & Fret, the Melbourne-based company that's been at this since 1997 and has put on Blanc de Blanc, LIMBO and Cantina. They've billed Loca Vida as a 'seductive and anarchic spectacle' built around big brass, pulsing rhythms, sky-high kicks, acrobatics and show-stopping choreography. It runs for an hour and forty minutes, interval included, and the cast is a genuinely international mix from Australia, Cuba, Spain and the USA, with Guinness World Record-holding acrobats, graduates of Cuba's National Circus School and performers who've worked on Broadway, the West End, Las Vegas, Paris and some of Australia's biggest stages. Between them, they've shared bills with Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera and Dita Von Teese, and appeared in shows like Wicked, Saturday Night Fever, Titanique and Strictly Ballroom.

There's a fair bit to know before you book, though. The show is rated 18+, so it's not one to bring the kids to, and it comes with a long list of sensory warnings: smoke, haze, fog, strobe lighting, confetti, streamers, fake gasoline, umbrellas and something the producers call 'intestinal torpedoes'. If any of that makes you nervous, it's worth weighing up before you commit.

On the practical side, there's a session for most nights of the week. Tonight, Saturday 26 September, there are shows at 5:00pm and 7:45pm, with a 5:30pm session on Sunday 27 September, 7:00pm on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October, and then double bills again on Friday 2 October and Saturday 3 October before the final 5:30pm show on Sunday 4 October. Tickets sit around A$64 to A$75, with Tightarse Wednesday knocking the price down further, and a range of options from Ringside VIP and Premium to a Private Booth for up to eight people that comes with a bottle of bubbles, plus General Admission and Cheap Seats. They're sold through Fever and are said to be moving quickly, so it's worth sorting yours sooner rather than later.

Strut & Fret are no strangers to this scale of production, with over two decades of experience and a portfolio that includes Sydney Festival, Brisbane Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. Founder Scott Maidment has worked on Madonna's Rebel Heart World Tour and curated entertainment for her birthday party in the Hamptons, so the pedigree behind the curtain is real. Whether you're in it for the acrobatics, the music or just to sit in a mirrored tent from the 1800s, Loca Vida is the big ticket in Newcastle this season.