If you like watching sublime circus acts paired with cultural inaccuracies, Hotel Tokyo is for you!

Warning: This show uses fog machines, fire and strobe lights to bring you a show with absolutely no Japanese cast members, plenty of nudity, cultural inaccuracy, and Astro’s minute long synopsis’ of lame shonen anime.

From the moment they enter, the audience is inundated with Japanese pop-culture references – for those who understand, good on them, but for those who don’t, you’re not missing all that much. Energetic MC, Astro sports Dragon Ball Z hair and a love for shonen anime. Astro is the audience’s guide to Japanese culture, even teaching a few handy words including ‘kawaii’, meaning cute, and ‘sugoi’, meaning awesome. His Pokémon and fellow performers in onsies greet guests and dance wildly to J-pop as they wait for the show to formally begin. At first glance they’re your generic otaku (Japanese pop-culture lover), but looks are deceiving.

There is a strong mix of the unfamiliar and familiar in this show. Even the playlist is a mix of familiar and unfamiliar songs and at Hotel Tokyo there is no escape from ‘Uptown Funk’. While slow starting, the audience was soon captivated by the skill and, at times, the absurdity of performers. Whether it was the two girls dancing to J-pop on the ariel silks or the fire-twirling samurai, the mix of skill and pop-culture was entrancing. Used in conjunction with traditional and non-traditional culturally inaccurate activities, the performers captivated their audience and offered something for everyone – there was even an interactive component!

The show contained an impressive number of costume changes, both on stage and off, as characters appeared and reappeared in different roles. One of the big surprises was the degree of nudity onstage, beginning with a deceptively innocent gothic Lolita showing her love of leather. Also presented were three ninjas who strip to become tap-dancing sumos and a semi-nude geisha fan dance. The costuming was excellent throughout the show, fitting perfectly to each performance.

This is not just a single performance but rather a collection of circus tricks, acrobatics, and cabaret with the additional theme of Japanese culture designed to captivate. While some audience members were clearly lost along the way, the circus tricks unified them in their awe. Certainly a show to see for people who enjoy Japanese pop-culture, circus, and stereotypes.