The licence to scare women out of their skin and have a good laugh over it. Indeed clowning around has never been more fun as it was at Cloud 9 on Friday night even as the restobar played host to a circus theme party.

Being greeted by fire-eaters is not what the Calcutta party people are used to. They enjoyed the fiery encounters for sure, but hardly as much as the next trapping which proved to be the ultimate shocker.

A colourful statue of a clown at the entrance to the nightclub sprung to life, jumping towards a passing guest, fooled many and scared a few.

The inside of the club was decorated with props from a circus though the freaky Friday crowd had its sights firmly set on the bar and ears glued to the sound of music.

Neither the look of the place nor the going-ons made a real difference. But the show went on — the jokers juggled, a man did a balancing act with a football or four, and someone dressed like a monkey escorted women to the dance floor.

Not that the ladies dressed in their spaghettis and slit skirts were game to monkey around on the dance floor, but it added to the circus spirit, nonetheless.

The performers came and went, but those in the party zone were in no mood to call it a day well past witching hour.