When you think of a party hosted by the British royal family, you might think of ball gowns, tuxedos and string quartets - not peers of the realm cavorting with fire-breathing, stilt-walking, circus folk.
Given the young princes' inappropriate preferences when it comes to costume parties, however, perhaps it's not surprising that the Windsors would have booked something out of the ordinary - such as theatrical troupe Incandescence, which is known for its fantasy-based shows that combine trapeze, flamboyant stilt walkers and a range of acts involving fire.
'One of the performers ended up on a bucking bronco with Harry and William - it was a rather thrilling event,' says Satya Lapham, 26, who co-founded the Cornish company nine years ago.
The royal show was just one of a medley of private, corporate and theatrical shows the company has put on, as well as supporting Ozzy Osbourne's 2003 Ozzfest heavy metal festival and British black metal outfit Cradle of Filth, with which Incandescence will shortly embark on a seven-week European tour. 'We've done everything from the royal family to dodgy metal bands,' Lapham says with a laugh.
Incandescence's latest project has brought 10 of the company to Mongkok's new Langham Place shopping mall. They wowed the VIPs at the official opening on Tuesday and will perform free shows for the public until Sunday. The shows include an aerial duet, with contortionists climbing two eight-metre-long silk sheets to the accompaniment of an opera singer.
Then there are the three-metre-tall stilt walkers dressed in outlandish black, white and blue-feathered costumes, as well as tall pink flamingos who'll interact with unsuspecting shoppers throughout the mall.
'They can be very athletic,' Lapham says of the stilt walkers. 'They race around and get up to all sorts of nonsense.'