Take That’s stadium-shaking circus extravaganza is the show of the summer

James HallSat, May 30, 2026 at 10:37 AM UTC

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Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Gary Barlow have rebooted Take That’s Circus Live stadium tour - Gareth Cattermole

Cynicism be damned. A revival of a 17-year-old concert tour by a trio of former boy band heartthrobs now in their fifties doesn’t necessarily sound like the recipe for a belting night out. But this is Take That. And their The Circus tour, first performed in 2009, is back: it’s the bang-for-your-buck show of the summer, a stadium-shaking carnival spectacular.

The tour’s opening night at Southampton’s 32,000-capacity St Mary’s Stadium featured a cast of 40 clowns and acrobats, a hot air balloon, a 40-foot-tall inflatable talking ringmaster, tightrope walkers, explosions galore, drum troupes, trampoline jumpers and a 246-strong backstage crew. Replacing P.T. Barnum at the extravaganza’s centre was one Gary Barlow – plus bandmates Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The show’s coup de théâtre was a 30-foot-tall, walking, mechanical elephant which rose slowly from beneath another stage carrying the trio on its back.

The show’s coup de théâtre was a 30-foot-tall, mechanical elephant - Gareth Cattermole

Ever-grinning Owen, 54, seemed to well up at the crowd’s effusive reaction during opening track Greatest Day, while Donald, 58, thanked the audience for letting them “still sell out stadiums” before they performed ballad Back for Good under umbrellas as water fountains cascaded around them.

Take That were the British boyband quintet of the 1990s, until resident bad boy Robbie Williams left in 1995. They disbanded the following year – helplines were flooded by bereft fans – before reforming as a four-piece man-band in 2005 and then becoming a trio in 2014 when Jason Orange left.

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A cynic might wonder why they’ve rebooted an old show. The reason seems clear: in the last decade the band have played 110 massive UK concerts while Barlow has performed 150 solo shows. That’s a lot. In being offered this boldly-staged jamboree – which broke UK records as the fastest-selling tour in history in 2009 – fans know that they’ll get a copper-bottomed Great Night Out. The set-list was pretty much identical (bar the inclusion of new song Superstar) and Orange’s absence was the only real change. But it made no tangible difference. Boy, did Take That deliver.

Take That fans know know that they’ll get a copper-bottomed great night out - Gareth Cattermole

Greatest showman: Gary Barlow replaced PT Barnum at the centre of the circus - Gareth Cattermole

Relight My Fire became a devilish New Orleans-style pageant as the stage was engulfed in endless shoots of flames. It occasionally became a cheesy nostalgia-wallow (dancing in formation to 1990s filler tracks like Do What U Like). But at a time when money is tight, the sheer spectacle offered to fans by this generous production, which will visit all four corners of the UK, is admirable.

As the lady behind me remarked as fireworks filled the sky: “Take that, Taylor Swift.”

Touring the UK until July 1; takethat.com

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”