Observations: Life's a cabaret at the Roundhouse

If you're a regular Glastonbury-goer you might have heard of Trash City. For the last three years, one of the festival fields has been turned into a comic-book version of the apocalypse; an intergalactic red-light district that celebrates hedonism with all manner of entertainment. Now, the creative minds behind it are putting on a new show for the opening nights of CircusFest 2010, a five-week festival of international contemporary circus at London's Roundhouse.

Staying true to its roots, this new incarnation of the show will still draw on trashy cult influences, from comic books to cock rock, music to movies (think Quentin Tarantino's action horror From Dusk Till Dawn and The Lost Boys vampire movie). The circus and cabaret part of the evening will include aerial vampires coming down from the ceiling, drag performers, sculptures made out of scrap metal and moving vehicles that breathe fire. And after the show, the venue will become a 1970s bombed-out New York drag disco, with DJs and different live bands playing each night. Regular Trash City performer Ebony Bones is headlining on the Saturday night.

Ruth Ivo Powell aka Ruby Blues has spent the last six months directing the show. "It's been slightly mind-bending, turning what we do in a field over a four-day weekend into a nightly performance," she explains. "The show is bonkers but it has a heart and soul as well and I hope we will make the audience laugh as well as care about the characters".

7 April to 16 May (0844 482 8008; Roundhouse.org.uk)