one4review | On 12, Aug 2025

The Flying Bubble Show is a bright, buoyant fusion of bubble artistry and aerial movement, brought to us by Maxwell the Bubbleologist’s simple story about following a dream. He takes us on a journey from a South African childhood at festivals to a grown man who wants to fly while making bubbles, then invites the room to imagine that dream as if it were lucid and real. I really wanted to start this review with, ‘It’s just a guy with loads of bubbles, and he’s flying. What more do you want? This show truly is a celebration of shapes and sizes, ranging from the tiniest fingertip-popped bubbles to expansive, room-filling rainbow spheres, each one capturing the light in vibrant ripples of colour. Maxwell’s easy humour and gentle voice keep the narrative bouncing along, while the bubbly visuals carry the show smoothly. “If you can hear me, say ‘bubbles'” is now a constant catchphrase and will soon be yours.

It’s part gleeful chaos and part quiet meditation. Maxwell moves us through with control, pausing for collective breaths before pushing back into swirling action. Audience involvement is light but lively, mostly chants for bigger bubbles and attentive silence during certain pieces. There is also a genuine warning to the front row about getting drenched, plus clear reminders to keep back as he spins overhead so no one gets clipped by a stray foot. The lighting baths everything in a soft glow that intensifies the iridescence, and at times the air fills with tiny spheres that drift within reach and vanish on contact.

The show feels very sincere, which is odd for a show inevitably creating thousands of bubbles and selling various bubble products at the end (like they all do). What’s surprising with this Fringe show is how we’re brought into this dreamlike wonder, and what starts as a small idea turns into the pairing of bubbles and flight; it’s a striking image. A few transitions could be tighter since the mood can tip from serene to messy in a heartbeat, and families with very young children may prefer clearer signposting between sections. Even so, the hour lands as warm and uplifting. For families seeking wonder without fuss, it offers lasting smiles and a little permission to dream bigger.

****

Reviewed by Matthew

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows

15.10 (1hr)

Until 23 Aug (not 19)