First Day of Circus to light up Britain for Circus250

The Great Yarmouth Hippodrome
will be lit up for #firstcircusday

Today, January 9, marks the 250th anniversary of the very first circus, and the Six Cities of Circus will be lighting up Britain by projecting the Sir Peter Blake-designed Circus250 logo on prominent buildings including Norwich Castle, the Blackpool Tower, the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, the Derry Walls in Belfast, the We Are Curious science centre in Bristol and the Guildhall in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where Philip Astley, the inventor of the circus was born.

The illuminations are expected to begin at about 4.20pm when it gets dark.

Circus fans and circus companies, meanwhile, will be marking the launch of the year-long Circus250 celebrations by taking to social media to share news of their plans, coming events and all things circus under the hashtags #firstdayofcircus and #Circus250.

The Six Cities of Circus are:

www.circus250.org

Newcastle-under-Lyme - Birthplace of Philip Astley, the Father of the Circus as we know it. Click here to read 15 Facts about him. NoFit State Circus premieres their new in-the-ring show Lexicon under their big top in March and Astley’s Astounding Adventures – specially commissioned for Circus250 year - opens at New Vic Theatre in July.

London - Birthplace of Philip Astley‘s first circus - the first circus in the world, in fact! - and home of the National Centre for Circus Arts (Read all about the former Circus Space here). CircusFest – the Roundhouse’s month-long celebration of contemporary circus – kicks off in April. The V&A is one of many major London museums joining in the celebrations with a Friday Late Circus – Past, Present and Future.

Launch of the Circus250 logo
in London

Bristol - Home to more circus companies than any other British city. The Royal West of England Academy Circus250 exhibition Sawdust and Sequins opens in Bristol in March accompanied by performance from Bristol circus school Circomedia.

Pablo Fanque
plaque in Norwich

Norwich and Great Yarmouth (joint) - Norwich is the 19th century birthplace of Britain’s first black circus proprietor Pablo Fanque. Events in Norwich will include The Lord Mayor’s Celebrations featuring a circus parade with life-sized elephant puppets winding through the streets in July, and Famished, the new show by Norwich-based Lost in Translation, opens. The seaside town of Great Yarmouth, meanwhile, is home to the Hippodrome, Britain’s only surviving complete circus building. Click here to read about the fateful encounter in this legendary circus building that inspired Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With the Circus.

Blackpool - Home of the Tower Circus staging shows since 1894. The town comes alive with circus celebrations, from the traditional Tower Circus to the cutting edge Grundy Gallery.

Belfast - Throughout the Troubles in Northern Ireland, circus schools were places where the two communities met to create great work. Contemporary Tumble Circus’s Christmas show closes the Circus250 celebratory year in Belfast’s Writers Square.

For details of forthcoming events visit www.circus250.org

As we head into circus' biggest year for 250 years, get your circus on by reading Circus Mania by Douglas McPherson - a backstage journey through a secret world of clowns, jugglers, tiger trainers, sword-swallowers, trapeze artists and showmen. 

Click here to read the 5-star reviews on Amazon of the book the Mail on Sunday called "A brilliant account of a vanishing art form."

And may all your days be circus days!

National Centre For Circus Arts takes circus to new heights in the UK

Circus Space
Once a derelict power station, now the new
National Centre for Circus Arts

For years, circus has existed on the fringe of British entertainment, much less culture. The very word 'circus' is often used as a derogatory term: media circus, for example.

But this week the world of acrobats and funambulists will attain a new level of respectability as culture minister Ed Vaizey announces the government’s decision to elevate Circus Space, London’s leading circus school, to a new status - the National Centre for Circus Arts.

National Centre for Circus Arts represents a major step up for the profile of circus in the UK, and also recognises the increasing use of circus skills in mainstream theatre productions and other spheres of entertainment.

Flying high
the new National Centre for Circus Arts

More than just a change of name, having a

Theatre director Stephen ’Billy Elliot’ Daldry, who collaborated with Circus Space for his staging of the London 2012 Olympics ceremonies described the new national status as "a great validation," while Jane Rice-Bowen, joint chief executive of the National Centre said: "This word 'national' will help people to realise that circus is something special. Our vision is a culture of circus in the UK. So, when mum sees little Tommy climbing up the curtains or doing something terrifying on the climbing-frame, she doesn't go, 'Oh my God, you're going to kill yourself, get down'. She’ll say, 'that kid could be the next great circus artist'."

Founded 25 years ago by a group of performers looking for a space to train and teach, Circus Space grew from the ash and pigeon feathers of an abandoned Victorian power station to become Britain's only training facility to offer a BA Hons degree in Circus Arts.

Read the full story of Circus Space in Circus Mania - a backstage journey through the world of sword-swallowers, tiger trainers, trapeze artists, clowns and showmen. The Mail on Sunday described Circus Mania as “A brilliant account of a vanishing art form.”

But, hey, perhaps the circus ain’t quite ready to vanish just yet.

Gerry Cottle (l) and Dr Haze
from the Circus of Horrors
help author Douglas McPherson
launch Circus Mania at
what was then Circus Space
and is now the
National Centre for Circus Arts

Click here to read about Britain's only degree course in circus arts and click here to see pictures of the new National Centre for Circus Arts when it was still a power station.

How to organise a book launch and create a media circus

The story of a launch party
in Writers' Forum.

In this article that first appeared in Writer’s Forum, CIRCUS MANIA author Douglas McPherson reveals the behind-the-scenes juggling for the book’s launch party at Circus Space. 


I planned the launch party before I wrote a word of Circus Mania.

In my proposal to Peter Owen Publishers I said, “Just picture the launch party, in a big top, with horses, clowns and acrobats...”

I sent an author photo with myself and an elephant and made up a cover quote: “A jumbo read!” - Sonja the Elephant, who promises to be at the launch.

That may sound forward, but I believe enthusiasm is contagious. Circus is a colourful, larger-than-life world. I wanted to get that spirit across to the publishers, reviewers, retailers and book-buyers - and I wanted a launch that would set the tone.

Circus Space
- the circus school where
Circus Mania
was launched

Circus Space
Although we discussed launching in a big top, we eventually opted for Circus Space, the UK’s foremost circus school (and now the National Centre for Circus Arts), which is located in a former power station in the trendy, media-friendly London borough of Hoxton.

One reason was accessibility. A big top show would have meant a trip out of town and as Michael O’Connell, the marketing manager, pointed out: “It’s hard enough getting literary editors to a bar in soho.”

Just as pertinently, Circus Space’s publicity man, John Dix, was excited by Circus Mania (which has a chapter on the school). He suggested we hold the launch as part of their open day on World Circus Day and promised to publicise it to Circus Space’s huge database of past students and circus folk.

This created possibilities for advance publicity. Theatrical newspaper The Stage ran a special circus issue and included a half-page article on the launch. I was also able to write an opinion piece on whether circuses should have animals for the Daily Telegraph’s website. They ran it on the day of the launch, giving Circus Mania! a huge plug.

Star attraction

How The Stage
reported the Circus Mania launch
with Gerry Cottle (L)
author Douglas McPherson (C)
and Dr Haze from the
Circus of Horrors

I wanted a celebrity on hand for photo opportunities and because getting the book signed by a circus star would be an added draw to circus fans.

Here I must pay tribute to the best known circus man of the past 30 years, Gerry Cottle. Knowing Cottle would be the most meaningful name to provide a cover quote, I emailed him some chapters and he sent a fantastic quote the next day: “Circus Mania is a passionate, up-to-date look at the circus and its people.”

Having already helped me so much, I didn’t expect him to travel to London from his Somerset home, but within five minutes of inviting him to the launch, he phoned and said, “I’ll be there and give you all the help I can.”

At that point it didn’t matter if any other circus ‘names’ turned up. We could tell the press and fans we had the big one.

Roll up, roll up!
While Michael concentrated on inviting literary editors and critics, I emailed an invitation to everyone in my address book. Some were editors and journalists I hoped would give the launch advance publicity, even if they didn’t attend. And I got a plug in some surprising places, such as a quarter page in car magazine Classic American, which has nothing to do with circuses or books, proving that editors tend to support their writers.

I also invited contacts in PR firms, people I’d interviewed, general acquaintances and people I barely knew. After all, who knows if some of them might be circus fans, or spread the word to a friend who was?

Proving the ‘you never know’ theory was a PR whose most recent communication had been to berate me for writing “the nastiest article I’ve ever read” about her client. Not only did she promise to come but she added, “You probably didn’t know I used to be a clown...” I wondered if she was going to bring a custard pie.

Inside Circus Space

It was heart-warming to get good luck messages from people I wouldn’t have expected to care less about my book - and to reconnect with old friends, such as Roger Foss, my former editor at What’s On.

“I’ll be the one in the sparkly tights!” Roger emailed.

“As long as they don’t clash with mine!” I replied.

What I didn’t realise was that Roger had a guest spot on LBC Talk Radio. A few days later I got an email from a friend: “I’ve just heard them talking about your book on the breakfast show...”

Timing

Hoxton hipsters chilling on the terrace
(including marketing man Michael O'Connell, centre)
at the Circus Mania launch party.
The launch party pictures were taken by
Anita Makri
www.photography.anitamakri.com

We announced the launch on the day I received the page proofs. They came with a schedule arranged with military precision: Proofreader’s Qs to author 25 Feb; Queries answered by 1 Mar; Second proof for indexing 10 Mar; Index by 17th; Final Qs by 23rd; To print 25th; Delivery 9 April - a week before the launch, so not much margin for error.

“It’s always a nail-biting race to the finish,” said overseas rights manager Simon Smith. Michael said he’d attended launches  where they didn’t have the book ready. He assured me we’d be OK, but his words came back to me as I waited for the proofreader’s queries and realised we were already a week behind.

Showtime!
Two days before the launch, with no sign of the book, I asked Michael if it was back from the printers. “I know we’re cutting it fine,” he replied, but assured me the printer would deliver copies direct to Circus Space in time.

Gerry Cottle to Dr Haze: "It's not a
rock'n'roll show!"

And so on the big day  found myself driving from Norwich to London with no idea if the books would be waiting for me. What a relief, then, to walk inside and see piles of freshly minted Circus Mania paperbacks laid out like a feast on a crisp white tablecloth.

Having spent a year writing, researching and publicising the book it was wonderful and quite moving to finally hold one in my hand. Flipping through the pages, I felt another wave of relief, as editorial director Antonia Owen had told me she’d known launches where the printer had put the wrong book in the cover.

Our hosts at Circus Space did us proud, with uniformed waitresses serving drinks against a backdrop of people swinging on the trapeze and walking the tight-wire. On the sunny terrace outside, students strolled about, juggling with balls and clubs.

I didn’t perform myself - the relaxed mood was more suited to mingling than a formal reading. But Gerry Cottle made a nice speech and said he thought Circus Mania would give a good boost to the circus industry. Dr Haze, the charismatic ringmaster from the Circus of Horrors, graciously signed books for the fans, as well as posing for publicity pictures with me.

Publisher Peter Owen
who was this year
awarded the OBE for
services to literature

With plenty of people from Peter Owen manning the book stall, I was free to meet and greet, shake hands and sign books. The three hours passed in what felt like a third of that time, and as the tables were cleared away I felt it had been a huge success.

I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and thank all the people from Peter Owen - and to discuss future strategy with them, such as which were the most circus-orientated countries to target for foreign rights.

The most rewarding part of the day was, of course, seeing the readers who’d come along to buy a copy. I’ll never forget the beaming face of the young American lady who bought the very first book. She looked so excited I thought she was going to faint. She made me feel like the biggest star in the world as I inscribed her copy with the traditional big top salutation: May all your days be circus days!

Circus Mania
- Loved by clowns!

Click here to buy your copy of Circus Mania in paperback or ebook format from Amazon - and may all your days be circus days!

And click here to see a history of Circus Space in pictures!

A Degree in Circus Arts - National Centre For Circus Arts graduates talk about their training and their future

Unemployment rates among actors and dancers are notoriously high, but it's a different story in the circus. In the following article, which originally appeared in The Stage, I asked recent graduates of the fomer Circus Space - now the National Centre for Circus Arts - and former students now performing at the highest level worldwide, how Britain's only degree course in circus arts prepared them for the world of work.

Degree students at Circus Space

Lynn Scott performs an act with a crystal ball, tilting her limbs to roll the orb around her body as if it were attached to her skin by magnetism. But if we could look into that crystal ball, what future would we see for Scott and the other students who graduated from Circus Space this year?
In times gone by, running away to join a circus meant serving a gruelling apprenticeship mucking out the animals and putting up posters in the hope that one of the performers may deign to teach you a few tricks and grant you a turn in the spotlight.
Today, it’s more common to enter the industry through formal training. But how well does attaining a BA (Hons) Degree in circus arts from Circus Space - now the National Centre for Circus Arts and the only UK school to teach the subject to degree level - prepare students for the world of employment?
According to aerial hoop performer Ben Brown, who graduated this summer, “Most of the teachers are working professionals, so you learn a lot about professionalism, how to work with directors and what prices you should set for individual clients.”
Circus Space is also the best place to hear about auditions, either through adverts on the school’s website or by networking with circus artists who use the Hoxton-based facility to train, adds Brown, who signed a contract for seven months work in a Singapore holiday resort shortly before graduating.
According to joint chief executive Jane Rice-Bowen, “All of the course is focused on ensuring that the students have all the tools they need to be employed.”
That includes helping students create their own website and providing them with professionally shot photographs and DVDs.
“In the third year, we work with students on a project called the Deutsche Bank Award for Circus which provides a bursary of £10,000 for a student or group of students to take a piece of work forward,” Rice-Bowen adds.

Inside Circus Space

Previous winners include Kaveh Rahnama and Lauren Hendry who formed So and So Circus and used the bursary to buy a van and equipment and put together a national tour of their show, Introducing... The Hot Dots!
“But even the students who don’t win will have been shown how to put together a business plan and given the skills they might need one day to make an application to the Arts Council,” says Rice-Bowen.
Katherine Would, who graduated in 2011, points out that the graduation show attracts talent scouts from leading circus companies and agents and leads many students to their first job.
“Acrobat Productions is a fantastic agency that saw me and booked me for many fantastic jobs whilst guiding and advising me as a performer,” says Would, who trained as an aerialist after a background in elite gymnastics.
She was also added to Cirque du Soleil’s database of potential talent as a result of the graduation show and is currently appearing in Las Vegas in the Soleil show The Beatles LOVE.
“The degree course helped me get the job by giving me a varied skill base and strong aerial training,” says Would.
LJ Marles is another 2011 graduate currently working internationally, in the touring show Traces by Canadian company Les 7 Doigts de la Main (7 Fingers).
“Two students from my year are also working with 7 Fingers, but in a different show. Another is working with another Canadian company, Cirque Eloize,” says Marles, who is about to begin work on a new 7 Fingers production in Montreal.
“I’m not sure any university can prepare you for the world of work,” says Marles, who went to Circus Space from a background in street dance. “We had professional circus performers, previous graduates and agents come in to talk to us and share their experiences, which was very helpful, but you’re never really prepared. Situations and issues arise which you have to figure out for yourself and you gain experience that way - which, unfortunately, is the best way.”
For Marles, the training was more important than the degree at the end of it: “When you go to auditions or apply for jobs they ask to see what you can do, not your degree.”

Rising from the dust
- Training when Circus Space
was still a building site

Marles’ advice to students is “Start promoting yourself before you graduate so that people know you will be available and you can have some work as soon as you graduate. I didn’t do that and so it took a while before I had any job offers. My first job after graduating was actually at Circus Space. They had an event for a book signing and wanted some circus performers, so me and a few others from my year took part.”
Rice-Bowen agrees that in terms of getting work a formal qualification is less important than the training. “But, once you’ve finished your performing career and maybe want to move into teaching or directing, having a degree will be incredibly useful. It shows that you’ve trained to a very high standard.”
The market for circus skills is constantly changing, says Rice-Bowen. “Last year was a bumper year because of the Olympics. There are fewer circus artists being booked for product launches and parties than there were a few years ago, but there’s been an increase in demand for stage work, particularly in small to mid-scale theatres.”

The Barely Methodical Troupe
- Formed at the NCCA
and appearing at Underbelly
Festival in 2015

Because of shifting market trends, Rice-Bowen expects most graduates to have a varied portfolio career: “They may tour with a company for a season, then come back to Circus Space and do some teaching. They may be devising their own work and supplementing it with cabaret. Then they may do an advert or an arena show with a pop star.”
Few graduates go into traditional tenting circus. But for some the call of sawdust and spangles will always be there.
“One girl came to us with a Phd in astrophysics,” says Rice-Bowen. “She trained to be an aerialist and went on to tour around Ireland with a very traditional circus as an aerialist and ringmistress.”
Whichever sector students go into, Rice-Bowen reckons the prospects for long term employment are good.
“We track our students through the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey, carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and find that three years after graduating 93% of our students are working in circus. That’s significantly higher than for actors or dancers.”
Marles warns prospective students that life in the circus isn’t easy. “Prepare to sweat and be in pain most of the time. But if you’re worried about a lack of work, then I would tell you not to worry. There are plenty of jobs in corporate events, festivals and abroad if you have a good enough skill level. Also, you will have the most fun ever!”

For the story of how Circus Space was founded in a former Victorian power station, and many other stories from the world of circus, read Circus Mania by Douglas McPherson - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With the Circus!

Click here to buy Circus Mania - the book the Mail on Sunday called "A brilliant account of a vanishing art form."

National Centre for Circus Arts - A history in pictures



Juliette Hardy-Donaldson
training when Circus Space was just a dusty space.
Read her story in Circus Mania

The Generating Chamber and the Combustion Chamber are perfect names for the main training areas of the former Circus Space - now the National Centre for Circus Arts and the UK’s only school to offer a BA (Honours) degree in Circus Arts. They suggest places where explosive performances may be generated.


Wind back a hundred years, however, and the names of those towering rooms had a more literal meaning. The building that currently houses London’s university of circus was formerly the Shoreditch Electricity Generating Station, where household rubbish was burnt to power the surrounding area.

Circus Space
when the Generating Chamber generated
electricity

When Circus Space moved in, twenty years ago, the building had lay derelict for half a century. Juliette Hardy-Donaldson was among those who helped clear out decades of accumulated ash and pigeon droppings, and swung on the trapeze in what was still a building site - “Fighting the pigeons for air space.”

These pictures are from those pioneering days.

You can read the full story of Circus Space, in the words of those who teach and trained there, in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book for Anyone who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus.

Risen from the ashes
- the Combustion Chamber
when Circus Space moved in

Also in the book, go behind the scenes of...

The Circus of Horrors!

Circus Mondao!

The UK’s oldest circus building!

Gerry Cottle’s Wookey Hole Circus School!

The BBC’s circus sitcom, Big Top!

The Chinese State Circus!

The trapeze net goes up!

Meet:

Britain’s funniest clowns!

Britain’s oldest circus family!

The UK’s last tiger trainer!

Learn:

The history of the circus!

The story of clowning!

The superstitions of the big top!

The secret language of the circus!

And much, much more, in what the Mail on Sunday called “A brilliant account of a vanishing art form.”

Click here to buy the new updated 2nd Edition f Circus Mania on Amazon!

For more on the future of the National Centre for Circus Arts, and in particular what the future holds for the graduates of its degree course, click to read my article: So you've got a degree in circus, what next?

Douglas McPherson, author, launches the first edition
of Circus Mania at Circus Space with
Gerry Cottle, left, and Dr Haze from Circus of Horrors

Peter Owen New Address

Circus Mania book launch
as reported in The Stage
(L-R: Gerry Cottle,
author Douglas McPherson,
Dr Haze)

If you’d like to buy Circus Mania by Douglas McPherson at the special offer price of just £10 postage free, please note the new address and telephone number for Peter Owen Publishers:

Peter Owen Publishers
81 Ridge Road
London N8 9NP

T. 020 8350 1775

“Circus Mania is a brilliant account of a vanishing art form... an excellent book.”
- 4-star review, Mail on Sunday

Peter Owen OBE
Publisher of Circus Mania

2014 Update: Circus Mania publisher Peter Owen received an OBE for services to literature in the New Year's honours list. Click here for details.

Click here to read about the behind-the-scenes juggling that went into the Circus Mania launch party at Circus Space.

How to choose a UK circus school, from Zippos academy to the National Centre for Circus Arts

Juggling at Circus Space
- The UK's only training facility to offer
a degree in circus arts.

Want a degree in circus arts? Or fancy hooking up your caravan and joining Zippos academy for a summer’s intensive training in the big top? Theatrical bible The Stage recently ran a special circus issue to which I contributed the following article on training opportunities in the UK.

Circus Space
in Hoxton, London

In the sawdust ring of the Circus Mondao big top, 9-year-old Cinzia Timmis and her 12-year-old sister Madalane are putting a troupe of pygmy goats through their paces. Elsewhere in the twice daily show, they ride horses, perform a magic routine and don sequins and fishnets to join in with dancers a decade their senior.

Out of the spotlight, they work in the stables, help put up the circus tent and, presumably, find time to go to school as well

The girls are following in the footsteps of parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents who have travelled with tent and caravan for 200 years.

At one time, it was only people like Cinzia and Madalane, who were ever considered true circus people.

Those who ran away with a travelling show to become an apprentice were always jossers or flatties - outsiders - in the old circus parlance, and had to prove their commitment by doing the dirtiest jobs, such as mucking out the elephants, before they were considered worthy of being schooled in the arts of the circus ring.

In today’s circus world, however, there are fewer elephants to attend to. The old circus families, and their traditions, have largely given way to contemporary companies like Canada’s international success story Cirque du Soleil.

Training at Circus Space

Circus skills have spilled out of the big top into theatres, arts festivals, pop concerts, cruise ships and corporate entertainment... and along with the increased employment opportunities for acrobats and fire-eaters, there are more formal routes into the industry.

At the National Centre for Circus Arts, formerly Circus Space, in London, you can even get a degree.

Founded in 1989 by a group of new circus performers who wanted a place to train and teach outside the traditional circus environment, the newly 'National' circus school is a state of the art facility in a former power station in Hoxton. The cavernous rooms where the furnaces and generators once stood provide the perfect space for trapeze.

On the three-year BA (Hons) degree course, students are given a one-year grounding in a variety of skills - juggling, trampoline, aerial work and acrobalance - before choosing a speciality.

There are no previous qualifications required for entry, which is by audition, and according to Head of Aerial Disciplines, Juliette Hardy-Donaldson, the students have a variety of aspirations.

“Some want to be in companies they already know. Others want to start their own companies or freelance. The events industry is the bread and butter in this country, because it’s good money.”

Typical graduates are Kaveh Rahnama and Lauren Hardy, who co-founded their own company, So And So Circus, as well as returning to Circus Space to teach on the youth and recreational courses that the school also provides.

“Circus Space changed my life,” says Kaveh. “As performance arts courses go, I’d say one of the

Inside Circus Space

biggest strengths of Circus Space is that they tell you very realistically how to make a living from circus. You do a whole module on a business plan. A lot of my friends went to RADA or LAMDA, and they never had that.”

Kaveh adds that the degree course is no cinch, however. Of the 22 students in his year, only 16 graduated.

“Some people think it’s going to be a bit of fun, but actually it’s incredibly hard work. As well as circus skills, you do a lot of conditioning: circuit training, press ups, sit-ups, as well as theatre and movement.”

A possibly even tougher introduction to life in the circus is offered by the Academy of Circus Arts.

Martin Burton of Zippos circus founded the Academy after hiring a trapeze act trained in a conventional circus school. He asked them to hang their swing in his big top, and was told they didn’t know how to.

“They’d trained in a building where the trapeze was already hanging each day. So although they’d developed a really great act, they hadn’t learned one of the key things, which is how to hang a piece of kit that is going to save your life.”

The trapeze artists then proved unable to adapt to living in a caravan and travelling from town to town each week.

Burton’s solution was a circus school that roams the country in its own tent - the one where the BBC1 sitcom Big Top was filmed. The 2010 course runs from May 1 to October 2, and in addition to the £2,800 fee, students are encouraged to bring their own caravan, although bunk wagon accommodation is available to rent.

The result of living the circus lifestyle 24/7, says Burton, is that “Circus directors from around the world queue up to employ my graduates because they know they will be used to sitting in the box office, putting up posters, building up the big top and taking it down, driving trucks from town to town... and all the many, many things that go with life in the circus besides just doing your act.

“The other part of the ethos is that they put on a show each week. So the students know they’d better pay attention to what we teach them on Monday because they’re going to be doing it in front of an audience on Friday.”

Gerry Cottle with students of his
Wookey Hole Circus School

An emphasis on rehearsal for regular public performances is also at the heart of the Wookey Hole Circus, a new training facility founded by veteran showman Gerry Cottle at the Wookey Hole caves tourist attraction in Somerset.

Cottle began the school as an evening class for local 9 to 16-year-olds.

“We’re getting a good name,” says Cottle. “If you ask most people if they want to see a youth circus, they’d think it’s not going to be very good. But when they come and see all these little smiling faces... then the kids start doing forward somersaults and riding unicycles standing on each other’s shoulders, then they really do like the show.”

Thanks to the success of Cirque du Soleil and circus-themed pop shows by Britney Spears and Take That, David Davies, Chairman of the Circus Friends Association, says “There’s a big interest in circus throughout the country at youth level. There are a lot of circus skills being taught in youth clubs, circus clubs and universities.”

Despite the efforts of Cottle, Circus Space, the Academy of Circus Arts and a very small number of other circus schools, however, the opportunities for professional circus training in the UK remain limited and of an uneven standard compared with other performing arts - and compared with countries such as China, which has state-run full-time circus schools in every province, taking pupils from the age of six.

It’s no coincidence that Britain’s two most successful touring shows of the past decade have been the Chinese State Circus and the Moscow State Circus, or that performers from China and Russia (another country with a tradition of state-funded circus schools) dominate the cast of Cirque du Soleil.

Gerry Cottle
in his younger days

Jane Rice-Bowen, CEO of Circus Space, feels that increased public funding for training and development is the main requirement if home-grown talent is to compete on the world stage.

“We want people to think about circus in the way they think about opera - as a very expensive endeavour. I think we have to talk about circus on that kind of grand scale in order to produce something as successful as Cirque du Soleil.”

Clearly, structured training to a recognised standard is the foundation of any profession. But, in the colourful world of the sawdust ring, there will always be room for those who simply want to run away with the circus.

Helyne Edmonds did just that. From school, she got a job in a circus box office then filled a vacancy when an animal groom left the show. Today, at 32, she’s a director of the Great British Circus, and in 2010 was the UK’s only lady tiger trainer. Read her story in Circus Mania, along with the full stories of Circus Space, Gerry Cottle's Wookey Circus School and Zippos Academy of Circus Arts.

CIRCUS MANIA FOR A TENNER!

(Postage-free!)
But what’s life really like in the circus? To find that out you’ll have to read my new book, Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed Of Running Away With The Circus.

You’ll find it in all good bookshops price £14.99. But the good news is you can save a jumbo-size £5 by ordering direct from Peter Owen Publishers for just £10 postage free.

To buy Circus Mania for a tenner, simply call 020 8350 1775 or send a cheque or postal order to:
Peter Owen Publishers
81 Ridge Road
London N8 9NP

Or click here to get Circus Mania on your Kindle!

Circus Mania Launch Party and Special Offer

This launch of Circus Mania
graced the
social pages of The Stage
(L-R: Gerry Cottle,
author Douglas McPherson,
Dr Haze)

CIRCUS MANIA! OUT NOW!
Special offer price £10 post-free


It’s here! After a year of writing, researching and waiting for it to roll off the printers, it was wonderful to walk into the launch at Circus Space on World Circus Day and see piles of freshly minted Circus Mania! books laid out on the table!

My hat is off to Peter Owen Publishers for the fantastic job they’ve done with Circus Mania! The cover looks superb, the colour photos have printed beautifully and the opening pages (including the traditional welcome “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...”) perfectly capture the atmosphere of going to the circus.

Circus Space, the UK’s leading circus school, also proved magnificent hosts for the book launch. The

Circus Space hosted
the Circus Mania
launch party 

building itself, a former Victorian power station, is hugely atmospheric and the room we were in had doors and windows opening directly into two enormous training spaces, so we had a backdrop of people swinging on the trapeze, walking the tight-wire and climbing ropes - as well as plenty of students casually strolling about juggling.

It was the first really hot day of the year and doors opened onto a sunny terrace, adding to the relaxed and happy time had by all.
Circus grandee Gerry Cottle came along and made a nice speech saying how he thought Circus Mania! would be a good boost to the circus industry. Dr Haze, the undead ringmaster from the Circus of Horrors was there, too, and graciously signed books for the fans.

Finally, I must thank everyone who came along to buy the very first books off the press. As I inscribed the books for them, “May all your days be Circus Days!”

"Media Circus"
A feature on the launch of
Circus Mania
in Writers' Forum

If you weren’t there, the good news is that you can buy Circus Mania! direct from Peter Owen Publishers at the special offer price of £10, postage-free within the UK (£2.50 postage the rest of the world) and save a massive £4.99 off the recommended retail price. Just call Peter Owen Publishers (Sales) on 0207 8350 1775 or email sales@peterowen.com

Click here to read the behind-the-scenes juggling that went into the Circus Mania launch party.

A certificate from
Princess Stephanie of Monaco
for participating in the first
World Circus Day
with the launch of
Circus Mania

Circus Mania Launch

ROLL UP, ROLL UP!
For Circus Mania Launch Party

Douglas McPherson (centre) with Gerry Cottle (L)
and Dr Haze from the Circus of Horrors
at the launch party for Circus Mania

Peter Owen Publishers have announced that Circus Mania! - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed Of Running Away With The Circus will be launched to press and public at Circus Space in London on World Circus Day, April 17.

Circus Space is, of course, the UK’s foremost circus training and rehearsal space and is situated in an amazingly atmospheric former Victorian electricity generating station in hip and happening Hoxton.

The launch party will be in the foyer, which has huge windows opening onto the towering Combustion Chamber and Generating Chamber training spaces, so expect to be surrounded by people on the trapeze and tightrope. We‘re also expecting a big turnout of circus folk from some of Britain‘s best known circuses.

The event is free to the public, so just roll up, roll up on the day if you’d like to buy a copy of Circus Mania! and have it signed by yours truly, the author, or any number of the people in the book who are likely to be in attendance.

Certificate from Princess Stephanie
for participating in the first World Circus Day
with the launch of Circus Mania

The party will be late afternoon and early evening on April 17, which is a Saturday. The exact time will be announced shortly, so check this space for details nearer the time.

With six weeks of circus events, films and talks running concurrently at the Roundhouse Circus Fest in April and May, London will be buzzing with circus stars and fans, so the launch couldn’t come at a more timely juncture.

I hope to see you there (Clown shoes, red noses, stilts and custard pies strictly optional!)

2014 Update: Click here to read the behind-the-scenes juggling that went into the Circus Mania launch party.