"Three Balls and a New Suit" Confessions of a jaded novelty act Winner of the 2011 Herald Angel award for excellence in theatre Jaw dropping skills and disarming charm pave the way for a bittersweet comedy exploring the highs and lows of a life spent juggling. Mat Ricardo has toured the world with an art that has been all-consuming in its perfection. This touching, poignant and utterly absorbing show opens a window on the lonely life of making others laugh. Ricardo has been one of cabaret’s best kept secrets for many years; a performer’s performer, whose skill, dedication and dead-pan wit have made him a well-loved favourite on the scene. Now Ricardo is ready to burst forth and grab the attention of the world with a unique show that highlights his extraordinary talent as a juggler, his exceptional ability as a comic and wordsmith and his compelling artistry as an actor and story-teller. In a show that takes the audience on an extraordinary journey through the soaring successes and difficult down sides of Ricardo’s life as a performer, every dark revelation is lightened by his dry wit and his truly phenomenal skills. A unique piece of comic theatre, and one of the most original and compelling shows you will see Running time: One hour. No interval. Photo below (c) :Izaskun Gonzales
	★★★★★ “Five stars for a juggler?  I assure you, no mistake. And the prejudice which makes such acclaim seem surprising is just one theme of this wryly reflective show, which mixes envy-inspiring physical skill with a well-told, deeply personal tale. He throws cigar boxes around, whips tablecloths away, and balances this and that on his nose.  It’s impressive, it’s often hilarious… and if it were all he did, it would still be a fine way to spend an hour. But – while you’ll surely be impressed by his mastery of his craft – that’s not what makes this show.  No, its true strength lies in its storytelling, looking back over a life spent perfecting this least-understood physical art.  It’s disarmingly candid and, at times, painfully poignant – but like the showman he is, Ricardo always has a joke standing by to defuse the tension and lift the mood. And the bonus of an hour spent with Ricardo?  I laughed myself silly too.” FringeGuru.com
★★★★★ "There’s a man onstage with a plastic cigar in his mouth. Balancing on this cigar is a pyramid of cigar boxes with a glass of wine on top. When the cigar boxes tumble, our host catches the glass and takes a sip. This, as Mat Ricardo will shortly demonstrate, is the least of his talents. In a brilliantly- written and consummately-delivered show, although Britain’s Got Talent’s mercilessly-pilloried producers may not agree, Ricardo relates how he avoided his prescribed careers in social work and funeral direction and took his ability to juggle around the world. Some of his tales may well be tall but you’ll hope they’ re not, especially the one involving a cruise ship, an amorous couple, a midnight sea rescue and an alarm-raising voyeur with a video camera. Meanwhile, back on dry land, Ricardo is daring us to heckle – he’ s experienced the worst, believe me – and performing outrageously skilful tricks with balls, hats, knives, carrots and machetes that to describe in detail would spoil the surprise. Suffice to say, he does two variations on the tugging the table cloth from under the crockery routine: one features a one-legged table balanced on his nose, the other doesn’t – and that one you really have to see." The Herald
	"A relentless hour of hilarious, jaw-dropping fun..Ricardo’s smooth wit drives the show at full speed, teasing the audience with swift anecdotes of a two-decade career. The actual tricks are as stunning for their mastery as for their ingenious conception. You’ll struggle to find an hour more tightly packed with cunning humour and spellbinding amusement. Three Balls and a Good Suit is more fun than most comedy shows, and certainly smells better than any circus I’ve been to" Erotic Review "There’s no doubting Ricardo’s talent as a juggler or a comedian.  Like famed juggler Enrico Rastelli, Ricardo concentrates his well-honed skills on only a few props – balls, cigar boxes, throwing knives – but conjures some fantastic entertainment from them.  If you think this is hyperbole, consider this -every year, Britain’s Got Talent writes to him inviting him on and every year he declines gracefully: “I have no desire to be fodder in your shiny-floored light entertainment slaughterhouse.” Even when a trick goes slightly wrong, Ricardo covers with a ready gag and a smile – damn it, this man is more likeable than an unexpected lottery win.  And that’s his forte: whether he is describing sexual escapades on a cruise ship, the ultimate heckle or a case of mistaken identity with a Department of Homeland Security officer, he carries us with him as assuredly as any stand-up we’ve seen." The Londonist