A YouTube video of Gandeys Circus' latest production, Hollywood, has captured a moment when a flying trapeze act went wrong.
A flyer's fall to the net is followed by a loud crash as the net appears to become untethered from its anchor point.
It clearly wasn't the scheduled end of the act, but instead of making a second attempt at the somersault, the flyer quietly exited the ring, followed by the rest of the troupe, who descended from their platforms via rope ladders instead of the traditional drop to the net, which had apparently been disabled.
Nobody was hurt, and the show continued without any mention of the incident. But it was clearly a near thing that could have been a lot worse - and a reminder of the danger involved in every circus act.
Big top accidents are rare, thanks to the skill and practice of the performers and their scrupulous attention to safety.
But when things do go wrong, it can be fatal.
My book Circus Mania was inspired by my interview with aerialist Eva Garcia, just days before she fell to her death during a performance at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.
It was the start of my journey into a canvas-covered world of sword-swallowers puncturing their throats and tiger trainers mauled by their animals as I sought to discover why circus artists risk their necks twice daily for our entertainment.
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