Words by Rose Newmark

Roll up, roll up, the circus man woman is back in town! On Tuesday, 14th April, Eden Hunter performed her sold-out show, The Circus Man Live, at the Crazy Coqs in London, playing her new EP, The Circus Man, in full to an anticipating audience.

The atmosphere in the venue was completely unique – set up like a 1920s cabaret night, the space was cozy, sealed off from the outside world, and perfect for showgirl Eden Hunter’s debut. From the first note of her opening song Freaky Little Freak, you could tell she was born to be on the stage. Eden Hunter doesn’t just sing, she immerses the audience in her music, in her story. It felt like being let in on a secret.

Other set highlights were an older single, Twenty, and when she brought singer Grace Davies onstage to perform a beautifully harmonised version of ABBA’s Dancing Queen. Eden involved the audience throughout the show, even giving everyone a card that contained a lyric from her song Showgirl, “Is the cure to stay true to the loser?”, with the back saying “Of course!”. Later in the concert, she asked all of us to write to do something that makes us happy no matter what anybody thinks, as “a little reminder that you’re perfect and you can achieve anything you want”.

Eden also included an unreleased song, Nobody Wants A Girl That Wants It All, which was originally going to be the title of her EP. The track didn’t make it onto the EP, but, according to Eden, “it’s going to win a Grammy one day”.

The Circus Man Live went beyond just being a gig, it was a performance. The costume, the lighting, even prefacing her title track The Circus Man with a dramatic recitation of her own poem. You can tell Eden is a theatre kid through and through! Especially when, to the audience’s delight, she sang Maybe This Time from the musical Cabaret, telling us how she hopes to play the role one day. We’re rooting for you, Eden!

Eden closed the show with a standout tune from the EP, Showgirl, a song about being willing to give up anything to be in the spotlight. It’s raw, it’s human, and it’s totally her. The Circus Man Live was a show like no other: an unapologetic celebration of being yourself. We can’t wait to see what happens next in the world of Eden Hunter. Look out for her in the next West End musical or Cabaret remake!

Photos by Rose Newmark