Never mind the rarified atmosphere of the opening classical concert or the wholesome tableaux of the Children's Parade.

For those who delight in decadence it's the arrival, UFO-like, of 28 tonnes of mirror, wood, stained glass and brocade which truly heralds the start of the Brighton Festival.

Following its successful debut last year, The Famous Spiegeltent is once more ready to offer itself up to Brighton's performers like some gorgeously willing receptacle.

But before they welcome in the likes of Chris Difford, Chungking and the Big Buzzard Boogie Band, the Spiegeltent team would like to offer you a little appetiser. It's called La Clique: A Sideshow burlesque and it is, quite simply, the spirit of Spiegel made flesh.

"It's been one of my dreams for a long time to do this," says David Bates, who performed his first gig in the tent in 1987 and is now the venue's producer.

"Until now the Spiegeltent has always been a receiving house - La Clique is the first ever piece created in and for the Spiegeltent."

A collision of vaudeville, music hall and fairground attraction, La Clique premiered at last year's Edinburgh Festival, where it sold out in the shake of a nipple tassle. Over its 80-year history, the venue has parted its ballooning velvet canopies for a host of international artists and the cast of its own show constitutes some of the world's top circus acts.

In the space of two hours you'll see David O'Mer, a shooting star in the world of German vaudeville, perform his aerial ballet in and over a bathtub. You'll see hip-dislocating hoola, roof canopy cabaret and a filthy game of hide the hanky. And you'll meet Miss Behave, one of only two female sword swallowers in the world, whose act is best summed up as Betty Boop crossed with a very big pair of scissors.

"And don't forget The Caesar Twins," says Bates. "They're from Poland, identical replicas of each other, and they perform an amazing acrobatic routine in a great big Perspex fish bowl."

Alongside this core of performers, each night's show will feature a few surprise guest slots, with magician Paul Zennon and character comic Chris Green already in the bag. Local artists are selling their souls for a slot in La Clique, and no wonder: The final act is raven-haired Irish chanteuse Camille O'Sullivan, who, having been spotted singing Kirsty MacColl and Marlene Dietrich standards in the tent last year, is now starring in a film opposite Judy Dench and Will Young.

"La Clique has become more successful, more quickly, than we ever thought it would," says Bates, who is already planning a follow-up for this year's Edinburgh Festival. "We've tried to really create the show out of the fabric of the tent so the piano becomes the stage, the bar becomes the stage, and people in the front rows get very, very wet!"

Acrobatic, exotic and not a little sexy, La Clique should have you swinging from The Famous Spiegeltent's Art Nouveau chandeliers.

Starts at 9pm with 7pm mats on May 14, 21 and 29. Tickets £10 - £12, call 01273 709709.