Take That Experience brings circus magic and classic hits to The Kenton

If you missed Take That’s Circus tour this summer, audiences at The Kenton on Thursday night got a taste of the big top as the Take That Experience tribute act brought the band’s biggest hits, colourful costumes and high-energy choreography to Henley.

The show opened with Greatest Day and Shine, immediately setting the tone for an upbeat evening before moving into Keeping Me Up All Night and These Days.

There were plenty of audience interactions throughout the night, including a special dedication of It Only Takes a Minute to audience member Karen. The performers also ventured into the crowd, handing their microphones to audience members and encouraging them to sing along.

Then came the moment many had been waiting for. The lead singer announced: “It’s almost time for Robbie, he’s very, very shy!” before launching into a run of Robbie Williams favourites including Let Me Entertain You, Millennium, Rock DJ and Angels.

The Circus section was one of the highlights, with the performers recreating the memorable circus theme and painting their clown faces on stage during Said it All.

The attention to detail extended to the costumes, with convincing replicas of Take That’s military-style jackets, colourful clown outfits and sparkly dancewear helping to recreate the look of the original shows.

The choreography ranged from slick routines to deliberately cheesy dance moves, with plenty of energetic gyrating and even some hilarious work with crutches.

The pace remained high through Relight My Fire, which saw the singers hitting some impressive high notes, followed by Pray, The Flood, The Stars Come Out and Hold Up a Light.

The audience were on their feet dancing for much of the evening, and the band made sure there was no shortage of opportunities to join in.

For the encore, All the Lights led into Never Forget, the ultimate Take That anthem, with hands in the air, clapping and the whole audience singing along.

It was a feel-good, high-energy evening that successfully captured the fun, spectacle and nostalgia of a Take That concert – and left the audience wanting more.