{"id":7758,"date":"2025-11-21T14:52:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T15:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/?p=7758"},"modified":"2025-11-24T12:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:30:15","slug":"i-attended-the-west-ends-wildest-christmas-show-a-woman-nearly-dropped-on-my-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/21\/i-attended-the-west-ends-wildest-christmas-show-a-woman-nearly-dropped-on-my-face\/","title":{"rendered":"I attended the West End\u2019s wildest Christmas show \u2013 a woman nearly dropped on my face"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
I was not expecting to become Sophie at Sophie’s Surprise Party in the West End (Picture: Rosie Robinson-Wood)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you get dressed for a West End<\/a> show, you rarely consider the possibility of becoming part<\/em> of it.<\/p>\n

Sure, you want to look vaguely put-together, but if you see as much theatre as I do, your main concern is usually selecting trousers with a waistband that won\u2019t slowly cut off circulation during two hours of sitting elbow-to-elbow with strangers.<\/p>\n

You probably reach for those unflattering-but-essential glasses so you can actually see what\u2019s happening on stage. And maybe, if you\u2019re feeling exceptionally organised, you even consider whether you\u2019ll be warm enough by the time you have to walk to the tube after the curtain falls.<\/p>\n

What you don\u2019t<\/em> think about \u2014 and what I now beg you to factor in \u2014 is how your outfit will look when you suddenly find yourself lying on your back in front of a cheering crowd while a woman is catapulted over your head.<\/p>\n

Because if you head to Sophie\u2019s Surprise Party at Underbelly Soho, that might just be your evening.<\/p>\n

The show bills itself: ‘Featuring world-class performers from Cirque du Soleil, La Clique and The 7 Fingers <\/em>and fresh from its sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe<\/a>, this isn\u2019t just a house party \u2013 it\u2019s award-winning circus at its very finest.’<\/p>\n

The simple premise is that it’s Sophie’s birthday, and a ragtag group of characters has assembled to celebrate. The twist? Each night, Sophie is a different audience member. <\/p>\n

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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (placeholder) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And on the night I attended \u2014 fresh from work in my partner\u2019s oversized sweater, frumpy-but-warm wool trousers, not a stitch of makeup, and blue-light glasses that scream ‘I have a desk job and am approaching 30’ \u2014 I was Sophie.<\/p>\n<p>There I was, plonked on stage in a birthday hat and thrust into the centre of a rowdy opening number as if I\u2019d been rehearsing with the cast for weeks, the audience howling at my attempts to keep up.<\/p>\n<p>Within minutes, I\u2019d been lifted, spun, danced around, and positioned on my back like a human crash mat while performers sailed above me with only inches to spare.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772110 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183477-8864.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Is it really a party with out a few flaming swords? (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"969\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772111 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183476-f42f.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Roller skates on a tiny stage? Don’t worry, they’re professionals. (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"969\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772106 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183562-4ca4.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The show often managed to be as sexy as it was funny (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At first, it felt like my recurring nightmare in which I\u2019m shoved into my high school\u2019s production of The Crucible, know none of the lines, and am \u2014 for no clear reason \u2014 completely naked.<\/p>\n<p>But then it swerved toward a Phantom of the Opera\u2013style fantasy, the kind where you\u2019re yanked onstage after the ing\u00e9nue breaks a leg in a tragic fall (‘You\u2019re the only one who can fit her costume! You <em>have<\/em> to! The critics are here! The show must go on!’), you deliver a miraculous performance, and are instantly anointed the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/west-end\/\">West End<\/a>\u2019s freshest overnight sensation.<\/p>\n<p>Where it actually landed was somewhere delightfully in between: that childlike, giddy joy of letting yourself be vulnerable, rolling with the punches, and laughing at yourself along with a room full of strangers, even if you felt your cheeks reddening.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"969\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772097 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183506-58e5.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The feats of human strength alone were enough to make any audience rise to their feet (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So many of us take ourselves so relentlessly seriously, and in the age of <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/instagram\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Instagram<\/a>, being seen in a way you <em>don\u2019t<\/em> control can feel like a personal crisis.<\/p>\n<p>But in that room, it felt like a liberating reminder that sometimes the best nights are the ones where you stop curating and start participating.<\/p>\n<p>And of course, part of the magic is Underbelly Soho itself.<\/p>\n<p>With its speakeasy-meets-circus vibe and a layout that forces audiences past two bars before they even sit down, it\u2019s possibly the only West End venue where accidentally having two bottles of wine at your pre-show dinner is the <em>right<\/em> energy.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t assume that if you aren\u2019t crowned Sophie for the night, you\u2019re safe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"metro-video-player \" data-track-module=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-responsive\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Audience gets involved with performer hanging from her hair at Sophie’s Surprise”,”duration”:”T18S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/11\/21\/15\/104082189-0-image-m-7_1763737820118.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2025-11-21T15:06:56+0000″,”description”:”Now that’s some skill…”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2025\/11\/21\/9005608841963876736\/480x270_MP4_9005608841963876736.mp4″,”height”:480,”width”:270}<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<video id=\"3554507\" class=\"video-js\" poster=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/11\/21\/15\/104082189-0-image-m-8_1763737826744.jpg\" 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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (placeholder) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Later, a performer suspended by her hair climbed an enthusiastic audience member like a tree before briefly straddling his face, then spun above the crowd as he gaped up at her in awe.<\/p>\n<p>Another audience member helped a nude clown mid-ping-pong-ball routine into a pair of shorts as the audience howled.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the mild nudity, Sophie\u2019s Surprise never drifts into territory that would make you avert your eyes from your parents \u2014 depending on your parents, of course. In many ways, it’s a great family activity, the perfect mischievous antidote to the seasonal onslaught of carols, eggnog, and earnest holiday fare.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it\u2019s not a children\u2019s pantomime either. After a will-they-won\u2019t-they romance between three performers, I was asked to choose between them \u2014 a decision that involved my impulsively requesting one take his shirt off. <\/p>\n<p>I earned a sweat-soaked tank top to the face for my efforts, clearly a spontaneous decision on the part of the performer that made it clear this show is really a living, breathing, changing thing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772093 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183513-add6.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The zany archetypal characters were immediately engaging (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And yes \u2014 at one point I was asked, in front of a packed theatre, what my favourite form of contraception is. <\/p>\n<p>What sets Sophie\u2019s Surprise apart is the pure, unfiltered <em>liveness<\/em> of it all. Even the best theatre on the West End can lull you into a dreamy detachment, so polished and well-lit that it\u2019s easy to forget it wasn\u2019t pre-recorded weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>But this show? You\u2019re in it, even if you aren’t Sophie. You might get sweat on, be grabbed from your seat, or a ping-pong ball may whiz past your ear.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s impossible to forget that what you\u2019re watching, and occasionally participating in, is real, unpredictable, shared human performance. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772087 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183584-d821.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The cast were talented multihypenates as good at joking with the crowd as they were at hanging from the ceiling (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"357\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24772103 lazyload\" alt=\"Sophie?s Surprise Party (Picture: Roger Robinson)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275183570-21df.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Audience members oscillated between laughter and gasps of awe (Picture: Roger Robinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The death-defying stunts feel genuinely death-defying, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/comedy\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">comedy<\/a> leaves space for enough improv to keep it fresh and new every night. <\/p>\n<p>Not once did I spot an audience member with that far-off look that says they\u2019ve zoned out and started thinking about KPIs or P&Ls. No one checked their texts during a lull, because there <em>were<\/em> no lulls.<\/p>\n<p>And in the age of tiny attention spans and glowing <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/smartphones\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">phone<\/a> screens, that much presence in one room feels like something of a miracle.<\/p>\n<p>Is my jumper a little sweatier than I\u2019d normally expect from a night at the theatre? Absolutely. But if a dry cleaning bill is the price of remembering why live performance thrills me in the first place, it\u2019s a bargain.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Sophie’s Surprise Party runs from November 21 2025 to January 10 2026. <a href=\"https:\/\/underbellyboulevard.com\/tickets\/sophies-surprise-party\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/underbellyboulevard.com\/tickets\/sophies-surprise-party\/\">Buy tickets here. <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was not expecting to become Sophie at Sophie’s Surprise Party in the West End (Picture: Rosie Robinson-Wood) When you get dressed for a West End show, you rarely consider the possibility of becoming part of it. Sure, you want to look vaguely put-together, but if you see as much theatre as I do, your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7758"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7768,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758\/revisions\/7768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}