Phillip Gandey's name may not be as widely known as, say, Gerry Cottle, Billy Smart or the Chipperfield family. But that's only because, apart from his eponymous Gandey's Circus, which he inherited from his father, he didn't put his name in the title of the many shows he created.
The Chinese State Circus, for example, was one of the most-attended circuses to tour the UK since the early 90s. But China didn't have a state circus. The show was created and named by Phillip Gandey. He has had equally long-running success with The Lady Boys of Bangkok, in which he took a traditional form of Thai cabaret and adapted it to British tastes with contemporary pop music. His other big successes include Spirit of the Horse and Cirque Surreal - both of which may have been attended by many who didn't associate the shows with his name.
With his ex-wife Carol Gandey, he in fact headed the world's second-biggest producer of circus entertainment after Cirque du Soleil
At the time of Gandey's untimely death, aged just 67, on 12 December 2023, he was responsible for the Great Circus of Europe, at that time playing in the Arab Emirates, and Snow Storm 3, at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.
Snow Storm 3 was a fine show with which to bow out. Perhaps more of an ice show than a circus, it's an ideal confection for Christmas. With a non-stop soundtrack of yuletide favourites, including Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, All I Want For Chrismas is You, Walking In The Air and Fairy Tale of New York, it fills its frozen rink with a swirl of highly skilled ice dancers, in duos and large-scale groups, dressed in a different outfit for each number.
But it's also held in a big top and features a strong circus element.
Britain's best-dressed clown, Mr Popol (Paul Carpenter) opens the proceedings in his glittering purple costume and tall hat, playing White Christmas on trumpet.
Later in the show, Mr Popol is joined by his regular auguste, Kakehole (Chris Freear) in a couple of classic clown routines. The funniest one involves Kakehole's comedy car, licence plate URA 1 (You are a one!).
Popol also shows his vocal talents, when he joins the ice dancers in a white wig to sing Mr White Christmas.
Elsewhere in the show, Phillip's daughter Hayley Gandey - a fourth generation ring star - performs an elegant cloud swing routine, including an audience-wowing upside down hang, after being driven on to the ice in another of no less than three comedy cars to appear in the show. The third mini-vehicle features in a topical pink-themed skating routine to the music from the movie smash of the year, Barbie.
The best mix of circus and ice comes from an aerialist introduced as Arina, who skates around the rink between rising into the air and assuming various poses on an umbrella-like prop with a hook-like handle - something seldom seen with a performer wearing ice skates.
A laser sequence recreates the Northern Lights of the title before a joyous ensemble finale to the arm-waving music of I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.
When I interviewed Gandey for The Stage in 2020 he said:
“My ambition is to leave the company in a good position for our daughters to carry on. If I was given the choice of somewhere to finish, it would be watching one of our shows with a full house.”
I guess this would have been the sort of show he had in mind.
RIP Phillip Gandey, one of the world's greatest showmen.
Snow Storm 3 runs until 1 January.
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