Philip Astley Centre opens in Newcastle-under-Lyme to celebrate the Father of the Circus.

More than 250 years ago, Philip Astley invented the circus as we know it today. Two and a half centuries later, on 9 March, a Philip Astley Centre opened in his hometown of Newcastle-under-Lyme to celebrate his legacy as the original greatest showman.

Giving new life to a formerly derelict shop, the Staffordshire visitor centre will host exhibitions, talks and circus workshops.

Astley was born in the town in 1742 and fought in the Seven Years War before using his equestrian skill to establish the first circus ring, in London in 1768.

The 42-ft diameter circle in which he performed tricks on horseback became the standard size of a circus ring throughout the world to this day. He also added acrobats, strongmen, clowns and novelty acts to his equestrian displays to create the variety show nature of a traditional circus show.

The Philip Astley Centre is the brainchild of magician Andrew Van Buren, who described it as "a necessary and long awaited addition to the town infrastructure, providing a chance for visitors to learn about and experience the Astley legacy through access to exhibitions, archives, and related physical skills."

For more information, visit www.philipastley.org.uk

 

Cirque du Soleil to set up home in London

Is London about to get a permanent circus building?

Canadian circus giant Cirque du Soleil is in the process of making the capital’s Saville Theatre its UK base.

The theatre, which was turned into a cinema in 1970 has been bought by Yoo Capital which has teamed up with Soleil to restore the 110,000 sq ft, grade II-listed building.

Eric Grilly, president of resident and affiliate show divisions at Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, said “We see a unique opportunity to bring back live entertainment to a beloved venue with fresh content and new ideas.”

Lloyd Lee, managing partner at Yoo Capital, said, “Yoo Capital is thrilled to have the opportunity to restore the theatre’s original purpose as a live performance space in partnership with the world’s most reputable live performers, Cirque du Soleil, who have chosen to explore the potential for the Saville to be their first ever permanent experience in London.”

Before circuses travelled in big tops, they were staged in temporary or permanent buildings. The grandest was Astley's Amphitheatre. Known throughout upmarket society simply as Astley's, the landmark venue was mentioned in novels by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

The last circus building still in use for its original purpose is the Yarmouth Hippodrome. But London may be about to get a new one.

 

Circus Cortex tours with cast of Ukrainian refugees

Talk about a human pyramid! Fresh from a Christmas season in Cairo, Egypt, Circus Cortex has just begun its British big top tour in Sheffield - a month later than planned because its cast of almost entirely Ukrainian artistes went home to visit their families and renew their visas... and found themselves in a war zone when Russia invaded.

Some are still there, conscripted into the military, others have undertook harrowing journeys out of Ukraine and the company has recruited Ukrainian replacements who were in other countries when war broke out.

Putting on a show, while worrying about loved ones hiding in bunkers miles away, the circus stars will be touring until their final show at Clacton on 30 August. Proof that the show always does go on.

For the full list of dates, click here.

You can read my interview with Corcus Cortex director Irina Archer, and the story of how the circus industry has rallied around its Ukrainian colleagues during the war, in this article in today's edition of The Stage. Click here.

For the latest news on the circus reopening its doors in Ukraine, click here.

For a behind-the-scenes journey through the contemporary circus scene, with reviews of circuses of all types, both traditional and modern, plus interviews with big top owners and performers from clowns and sword-swallowers to trapeze artists and tiger trainers, read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book for Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus!

 

Britain's first drive-in circus opens Sunday

Paulos Circus has announced a change of date for the opening of Britain's first drive-in circus.

The Back 2 The 80s Drive-in Show, staged by Paulos Circus, is will now open on Sunday 19 July and run through to 31 August in Newquay, Cornwall, with a stage, screens, socially distanced car parking and a specially designed 80s-style soundtrack.


For bookings, visit the Paulos Facebook page.

For details of other circuses hitting the road post-lockdown, including Circus Wonderland and Uncle Sam's Great American Circus, click here.

Site preparations for
Britain's first drive-in circus

Post updated 13 July
Having originally scheduled opening night for 16 July, Paulos Circus has since delayed opening until Sunday 19 July.

Big Kid Circus Cake marks 91 years in the big top for circus star Doreen Enos

Circus star at 91

Here's the cake with which circus star Doreen Enos celebrated her 91st birthday yesterday (May 20). Enos, known to her circus friends as Oma - the German word for grandmother - blew out the candles in the big top on Morecambe seafront where Big Kid Circus is currently in lockdown.

The cake was donated by one of the local residents who have supported the 35-strong circus company while it is unable to open its doors. You can help by watching their show, Cirque de Cuba online here.

And in circus summers gone by.

Bring in the holographic horses, as Circus Roncalli rides into the future

With animals steadily disappearing from circuses around the world, some traditional big top fans may see Circus Roncalli's latest attraction as another surrender to animal rights activists. But as we celebrate 250 years of the first modern circus - created by horseman Philip Astley - it's important to remember that the circus tradition is a tradition of innovation.

Astley wasn't the first trick horse-rider of his day - there were many like him, newly returned from the wars, who found a new use for their equestrian skills. Astley's innovation was to put horse stunts in a circle, as opposed to on a long straight, which gave his displays a more theatrical setting. He then added a series of other acts, from tumblers to strongmen and clowns, that made up the variety show format of circus as we know it.

The strength of that format has always been its ability to include new, different and never-before-seen acts designed to keep the crowds coming back each season.

Over the past 250 years, circus promoters have been tireless in finding new spectacles: the flying trapeze, wild animals, freaks of nature, acts from different cultures around the world, be it American cowboy knife-throwing and lassoing or oriental plate-spinning and martial arts.

From hippos that sweat blood to the chainsaws and motorbikes of Archaos, circus has always traded on the new.

And so it is with Germany's Roncalli. Established in 1976, the company was among the first to update circus by linking acts with themes and storylines, which paved the way for the mega-success of Cirque du Soleil. For 2018, they now bring us holographic horses, elephants and giant fish.

Is it a surrender to the animal rights movement or, as I prefer to see it, the latest step in the big top's ever forward-marching quest to give audiences something brand new to go "Wow, I've never seen anything like that before!"

The answer, for me, lies in those shots of jam-packed seats. Sure, it's possible to miss the real animals, but for all the sense of tradition that sometimes surrounds it, the circus has never thrived by looking back - it's lifeblood has always been the new.

When I set out to write Circus Mania, I didn't want to write a history book. Yes, there is history in it, because there are glimpses of tradition everywhere you look in the big top, and it's hard to look at any new act without seeing the ghosts of performers from fifty, a hundred or 250 years ago. My real concern, though, was to explore the lives of circus performers as they are lived today. As such I found myself backstage in a world of constant innovation as predominantly young people strove to create new acts and new styles of show that moved the old traditions forward. The Mail on Sunday called Circus Mania "A brilliant account of a vanishing art form." But is it really vanishing? Some of the older styles are, yes, just as the past is always receding into the distance. But, just as a snake leaves its old skin behind, the ever evolving circus itself keeps coming up fresh and new.
Take a glimpse into the ever-changing world of the big top by clicking here to order the new and revised second edition of Circus Mania from Amazon.

Tigers back by popular demand - it's what the public wants to see says circus

An American circus that raises money for good causes is bringing back its tigers and elephants thanks to popular demand.

The Melha Shrine Circus, which supports charities including children's hospitals, lost money for the first time in its 63-year history last year, after dropping animal acts in the face of protests.

"We had people asking for refunds after finding out there were no animals," says circus chairman Allen Zippin, who has brought back elephants, tigers and dogs.

The news comes as America's longest-running circus, Ringling, prepares to pack its trunk after a fall-off in ticket sales following the retirement of its elephants last year - and proves that if circuses want to survive they have to please their friends not their enemies.

Animal rights protesters often argue that all-human shows like Cirque du Soleil don't need animal acts to thrill. But when the circuses they complain about stop using animals, those same protesters clearly don't support them by buying tickets.

Protesters make a lot of noise in the media, circus fans a lot less so. But as the Melha Shrine Circus has found, the ring of the cash register speaks louder than the shouts at the gate.

New clown and circus show coming soon - and you can help!

Smartii Pants and Bobbo

There are some shows you know will be good as soon as you hear a one-line outline. Such a show is the new venture by the newly-formed double-act of Bobbo Roberts and Ian 'Smartii Pants' Williams, which features "proper clowning in a panto-like theatre show." Oh yes, and it's is set behind the scenes of a traditional circus. What could be better?

It sounds like audience participation will feature strongly, and if you're a fan of clowns and clowning, you can get involved from the very beginning by supporting the production through its Go Fund Me Page. Alternatively, if you're a clown or circus person yourself, the boys would be pleased to hear from you if you could lend them any drapes or props to add to the circus atmosphere.

Bobbo took time out from preparing the show to tell us a little bit about it:

What is the title of your new show, and what's the storyline?

The new show is called "Trouble at the (Big) top" It features a failing circus as a backdrop where all the acts have walked out leaving only the ringmaster and a clown to put on all of the acts between them. It allows for the use of a lot of clown parody acts and gives a lot of room within the framework for a lot of proper clowning and play to involve the audience.

Who's idea was it and what was the inspiration? 

Ian and I had been bemoaning the lack of proper clowning and wanted to show audiences what we loved about real clowning. I suppose the inspiration came from various sources, The Crazy Gang, Norman Wisdom and The Pickle Family Circus over in the USA certainly helped but our main focus was on breathing life into some old concepts by performing them with the audience not at them. Oh and of course mention needs to be made of the amazing work Tweedy does with his one-man show.

Smartii Pants reacts to Bobbo's suggestion
that they put on a show

Will it be just the two of you or is anyone else in the cast? 

At the moment the intention is to run as a two-man show/crew. We'll  be tweaking the show so we can run the sound and lighting cues ourselves whilst mid act and trying to incorporate sound effects in to polish the production. Only with today's technology is this possible and we want to make a show that may be set in a simpler time but is really of it's time.

What can we expect to see in the show in terms of clown routines etc? 

There will be various acts represented such as Juggling, Strongman, Magic and a parody on animal acts. Of course for the changeovers there will be various other clown bits thrown in to allow for costume changes. The framework will remain the same but every performance will be different as each audience will help shape it as they join in and come along with us. Overall it will be  Burlesque in the truest sense of the word, parodying whilst at the same time reverie the acts we put on.

How did you meet Ian and what made you decide to team up for this show? 

We move in similar circles and realised when we chatted we had a similar passion for real clowning and the humanity in it. We ended up talking over coffee quite regularly when one day we suddenly decided talking was getting us nowhere and we started writing instead. Our good friend Simon Thompson (Clown Noir) has been touring a one-clown show for a while and really encouraged us to look deeper than the same old gags and to go into a room and play with the props till we found some truth. We went into a room and played around for a week in character and came out thinking this could actually be something good.

What are the challenges of starting a show from scratch? 

Time is the major consideration, writing and rehearsing the show takes time as does building props and editing music not to mention sewing costumes and designing posters. It really is a two-man effort to get everything done. We've set ourselves a target of performing an early draft of the show as a fundraiser for a local Boys Brigade before the end of the year to give ourselves a deadline to work to.

Clowns on their way!

How much are you hoping to raise through your funding page and what do you need to buy? 

The target is £3000 but we're not only looking to raise money. We are lucky in that we have friends in the business who may have drapes and set pieces lying around Ian used to teach sound engineering years ago but neither of us has a PA system as our backgrounds are not as party entertainers.

When are you planning to tour and what sort of venues? 

We're previewing the show this November to get a feel for what works and then by next year we'll rewrite parts and start touring in the first quarter of 2017. We're looking to play intimate venues so we can maintain eye contact with the full audience. Eventually as the show grows we'll be looking to include local drama and dance schools and speciality acts in the show to give them a chance to perform.

Is there anything else you'd like to add about the show or other forthcoming appearances? 

We both have jobs coming up for the Christmas season with our solo acts. Ian is working some street jobs and I have some appearances at the Britannia Panoptican music hall. We'll be appearing together again at CGUK 2017 in March and we're taking the show to Limerick fringe in April, then we'll be working at Holbaek clown festival in Denmark in August. It's a busy old year but if you have a passion for what you're doing it's worth the effort.

FROM CIRCUS RING TO WEDDING RING!
Bobbo would also like to thank his comedy partner Ian for being his best man when he gets married this Friday (October 21), and his wife-to-be Gill, who has been supporting 'Trouble at the (Big) top' by keeping him and Ian topped up with coffee and bacon and eggs while they work on the show.

For more on Bobbo click here to read my two-part interview, Life of a Clown.

Zippos circus kicks out clowns shocker!

Years of attacks by animal rights activists couldn't stop Zippos circus touring with cats and budgies, but the evil clown craze has caused showman Martin Burton to call time on that other circus staple, clowns.

According to a report in The Sun, Burton fears the evil clown craze has stoked the fear of clowns to such proportions that he fears families would be put off buying tickets if they thought they'd see any red noses in the ring:

“The recent hijacking of clowns from comedy into horror, started by Stephen King and now adopted at Halloween horror mazes and in film around the world is simply not funny.

"I would like to make it clear to our visitors that Zippos Circus shows feature no clowns, in fact the 'red nose' has been redundant with us for a while - we prefer comic slapstick characters of the Charlie Chaplin style, but nonetheless we are concerned that families might be put off attending our circus, and robustly condemn these clown stalkers."

The press reports about Zippos' no-clown policy, however, are not strictly true. Zippos still features clowning in the form of Mr Lorenz, who may not wear a red nose or a scary mask, but still wears recognisable modern clown make-up including a white lip, and performs clown routines (as opposed to, say, stand up comedy or some form of non-clown funny business).

What we have, then, is a great example of a circus turning the bad clown publicity to it's advantage in the form of national advertising.

It still seems odd though that Burton, who is also the President of Clowns International and a former clown himself, appears to be distancing himself from the clowning profession he's supposed to represent. Is this an example of how badly the prankster clowns have unsettled the professionals?

Will Scotland be first part of UK to ban wild animals from circuses?

Circus Mania author Douglas McPherson
meets one of the last elephants to perform
in a British circus.

There has been talk of banning animals from British circuses for more than 100 years (you can read the full timeline here) but talk has come a step nearer to reality with the Scottish government announcing that its Wild Animals in Circuses bill is one of 15 bills to be debated in the new parliamentary term.

If passed, the bill will outlaw wild animals in travelling circuses in Scotland.

A ban was proposed by the UK government in 2012, but the promised implementation date of 2015 came and went without the bill being passed into legislation. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to introduce a ban via a private members bill, but these have all been blocked. (Click here to read Why Christopher Chope is right to block ban.)

This week, several animal rights groups delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street, calling for the Prime Minister to implement the current ban. In the wake of brexit, however, it seems unlikely that the government would be willing to devote parliamentary time to such a fringe matter for the foreseeable future.

There are only two circuses currently licensed to travel with wild animals - Circus Mondao and Peter Jolly's Circus. Both are regulated by a license and inspection scheme that has been in place without incident or complaint since 2013.

With Westminster seemingly unwilling to implement a ban, however, pressure groups have turned their attention to regional government where they appear to have found more willingness to act.

Earlier this year, there was concern within the circus industry when Professor Stephen Harris was appointed to carry out a study of wild animals in circuses with a view to implementing a ban promised by the Welsh Assembly last autumn. Harris' report backed a ban although no further action by the Welsh Assembly has been reported to date.

Whether the Scottish government's bill will be passed remains to be seen, it is however the first regional government to assign parliamentary time to the issue.

Jack Ryan 1939 - 2016 - May all his days be circus days

A Ringling programme book

There are some phrases that sound like they were never written, they've just been around forever. One of them is the traditional circus sign-off: "May all your days be circus days!" It sounds like a goodbye handed down through the centuries, but in fact it's a tradition that dates from just 1969.

The words were coined by Ringling Pr man Jack Ryan who sadly died yesterday, 25 August, aged 77.

Remember him next time you hear that famous ringmaster's farewell.

At Ryan's request, in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory should be made to Circus World, Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Gerry Cottle's Wow Circus, Paighton Green Seafront until August 30

Like music? Love circus? Roll up, roll up for Gerry Cottle's Wow Circus on the seafront at Paignton Green this month.

The latest venture from Britain's best-loved circus impresario promises hit songs from the past 60 years with an array of big top treats including trapeze, juggling on quad bikes and a trio of female magicians.


Cottle is, of course, the best known showman of the past 45 years - the Billy Smart, PT Barnum, John Ringling or Lord Sanger of his generation. His enduring influence became clear while writing Circus Mania! in that there is hardly anybody in the industry who either hasn’t worked with him or is related to him.

It’s 50 years since Gerry turned his back on suburban life as a stockbroker’s son growing up in Cheam and, at the age of 15, ran away with Robert Brothers circus. From humble beginnings as an apprentice, he taught himself to clown, stilt-walk and, most importantly, the tricks of running a circus.

Cottle and Austen's Circus posters

By 1970, he and his business partner Brian Austen had started the first Cottle and Austen Circus. With no cash to buy animals, the owners and their wives performed nearly all the acts themselves. From the beginning, however, Cottle proved a natural publicity magnet. The circus was featured in a BBC documentary, The Philpott Files, and on the cover of the Radio Times as ‘The smallest greatest show on earth’.

By the end of the decade, Cottle and Austen’s Circus had become Britain’s biggest circus, thanks in part to a policy of monopolising London’s parks, and providing the big top venue for Saturday night TV variety show Seaside Special.

Cottle and Austen went on to promote the Chinese State Circus and Moscow State Circus, which were soon established as the UK’s most successful shows, and Cottle became a founding partner in the Circus of Horrors, which has been another of the biggest circus success stories of the past decade.

In 2003, Cottle sold Austen his share in the Chinese and Moscow circuses so that he could buy the tourist attraction Wookey Hole. Proving that old adage that you can shake the sawdust off your shoes but you can’t shake it out of your heart, however, Cottle never gave up his love of the circus. At Wookey, he swiftly established a circus museum and a circus school for local kids.

Gerry Cottle (Left) with Circus Mania author
Douglas McPherson (Centre) and Dr Haze from
Circus of Horrors at the launch of Circus Mania 

When I interviewed Gerry for my book Circus Mania! he said his love of circus was greater than it has ever been. He sees every circus that comes within range and will talk knowledgeably and passionately about any show you mention.

As for his latest venture under the big top, Cottle says: “It’s got my name on it and I promise you a great show LIKE NO OTHER. A whole world of LIVE entertainment for all the family – we think you’ll have the time of your life!”

Gerry Cottle's Wow Circus is at Paignton Green until August 30, before moving on to Plymouth, September 2 - 18.

For times and tickets call: 0845 835 50 50


And for the full story of Gerry Cottle and many other circus stars, from trapeze artists to animal trainers, read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus by Douglas McPherson.

Click here to buy from Amazon!

Pope praises circus folk and meets tiger

The Pope has praised circus artists, carnival workers, street performers and other travelling performers, and also given his blessing to animal entertainers, it seems, after petting a performing tiger in Rome.

According to a report in the Catholic Herald, Pope Francis thanked the artists for bringing beauty and joy to an often dark, sad world.

“You cannot imagine what good you do, the good you sow,”said Pope Francis during a special audience celebrating the jubilee of circus and travelling-show performers.

While they may never know the impact they truly have on people, “you can be sure,” he said, that “you sow these seeds that do many people good.”

Hundreds of performers, family members and supporters gathered in the Paul VI hall as part of a two-day pilgrimage to Rome for the Year of Mercy.

To the tune of “O Sole Mio” played by an organ grinder, an animal wrangler used a baby bottle filled with milk to lure the leashed tiger toward the Pope, who was invited to pet the enormous cat.

In his talk, the Pope noted the performers’ special ability to bring a smile to a child’s face, brighten a lonely person’s day and draw people closer together.

Calling them “artisans” of wonder, beauty and celebration, he praised their abilities to lift people’s spirits and offer communities “healthy entertainment.”

The often difficult life of being on the road was “a special resource,” he said, because it meant they – like Christ – could bring God’s love, joy and embrace to even greater numbers of people, especially those on the margins of society.

He thanked them for offering shows and free admission to the poor, the homeless, prisoners and disadvantaged kids during the Year of Mercy.

“This, too, is mercy: sowing beauty and happiness in a world [that is] sometimes gloomy and sad.”

The Pope urged local parishes to reach out to travelling performers, offering them the sacraments and eliminating prejudicial attitudes that marginalise them. He also invited the entertainers to deepen their faith, especially by handing on God’s love to their children and others.

Miley Cyrus' sister Noah Cyrus fights Ringling Brothers Circus - but is it just propaganda?

"Don't visit the circus," says Miley Cyrus' little sister
Noah Cyrus.

Poor old Bily Ray Cyrus. As if the country singer fondly remembered for Achy Breaky Heart didn't have enough on his plate with daughter Miley Cyrus stealing the media spotlight, he has another precocious offspring squeezing him out of any limelight that might be left. Miley's little sister, 13-year-old Noah Cyrus has made a Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) video protesting against the treatment of circus elephants. In the video, which is targeted at school children and uses emotive cartoons of tearful baby elephants, Cyrus compares their trainers with playground bullies. She's also spearheading a campaign asking Nashville schools to boycott class visits to Ringling Brothers when the circus visits Music City, Tennessee.

Never mind the jumbos, I say, how about a campaign to revive Billy Ray Cyrus’ career?

But there’s a serious issue here. Peta are using extremely emotive images to indoctrinate children too young to question what they are seeing. And is the message true, or just propaganda?

A Chipperfield tiger

There’s no doubt that some circus trainers have and do use pain to train animals. But there is also plenty of evidence that others train with reward and patience and have relationships with their animals built on mutual trust and affection. Click here to see how lion trainer Thomas Chipperfield works.

Every pet owner knows their animal can be trained to perform simple tasks such as sitting, staying and fetching with no cruelty involved. Horses have to be trained to be ridden. Guide dogs for the blind, sheep dogs and police dogs are all trained to a sophisticated level, yet no one accuses their trainers of cruelty. So why should circuses trainers be singled out?

They may work with more exotic creatures, but the whole purpose of circus is to present something out of the ordinary. A trained tiger is more exciting to see than a trained dog, but does that mean its training methods should be regarded as more suspect, or that a big cat should find working with humans more objectionable than a canine?

Training with patience and kindness
a scene from Thomas Chipperfield's
lion training video diary.
Watch it on YouTube.

Many animals from chimps to dolphins seem to enjoy interacting with humans, and let’s not forget that circus staple the elephant has long been domesticated and used, in its native region, in the same way as horses and oxen in other countries.

In my experience, children attending circuses with animals have been universally enthralled by the opportunity to see exotic animals paraded in such close proximity - and in our increasingly sanitised world where everything is experienced through a screen, that’s a rare and valuable opportunity to learn something about the relationship between humans and the natural world.

So, while Noah Cyrus is asking schools to boycott Ringling, I’d say this to teachers and parents: take your children to the circus, but do more than that. For a truly educational experience, organise a backstage visit to see the animals and invite a trainer to give a talk to the class.

Encourage your children to ask questions and form their own judgement based on what they see for themselves rather than to blindly believe everything they are told.

CIRCUS MANIA - A Personal Journey

I was brought up to believe that the idea of performing animals was wrong. It was the skill of human performers and the dangers they risked they drew me to the world of circus, but while all-human shows such as Cirque du Soleil may represent the future of the art form, I quickly realised that I would have to attend a traditional circus with tigers and elephants in order to catch a glimpse of its history, because it was with the horsemanship of Philip Astley nearly 250 years ago that the circus began.

I went with mixed feelings over the animal issue, and so my journey through the backstage world of the circus also became a personal journey through the rights, wrongs, truths and fictions of animals in the sawdust circle.

Share my journey through this complex subject in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With the Circus.  Click here to buy Circus Mania from Amazon.

"Circus Mania is a brilliant account of a vanishing art form."
- The Mail on Sunday

"The greatest show on Earth... in a book!"
- World's Fair

A circus tiger
- who knows what he's
really thinking?

Oh, and for more information on the ethics of Peta, visit Astley's Legacy, a blog dedicated to countering anti-circus propaganda and presenting the truth about circus animals and animal rights organisations.

Circus for sale

Waiting for the show to go on
- the 1900-seat ghost circus of Chisinau waits like
Sleeping Beauty to be reawakened.

If you'd like to buy a circus, the Moldovan government would like to hear from you. The Chisinau Circus was built in 1981, with a striking crown-like design by Semion Shokhet and A. Kirichenko, an impressive sweeping foyer and lower level accommodation for a menagerie; but war and economic strife in the region has led to the building sitting empty since 2004.

Empty for a decade, the murals and chandeliers
of the Chisinau Circus need only a sweep
and brush down - although other parts of
the building need more work

There are currently plans for circus to be reintroduced to the building's small hall. But with so much of the main building having fallen into disrepair or fallen victim to vandalism, the government say the 1900-seat auditorium will only reopen if a private buyer is found.
If you're interested, contact the head of the Circus Administration Board Aliona Strambeanu.

For Sale - One slightly used circus

If you'd just like to browse, take a photo tour through the many rooms and corridors of this slightly used circus at

www.abandonedjourney.com 

It was at Britain's last circus building, the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, that my journey into the world of circus began after I met aerial silk artiste Eva Garcia - just days before she fell to her death in the auditorium's 100th anniversary season. Read her story in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With The Circus by Douglas McPherson.

Click here to buy from Amazon, or buy direct from Peter Owen Publishers at the special offer price of just £10 including postage in the UK (add £2.75 postage worldwide). Send cheques to:

Peter Owen Publishers
81 Ridge Road
London N8 9NP

Tel: 020 8350 1775

Tiger trainer maulled

A Circo Gottani tiger

An audience in Madrid was reminded last Friday of the dangers of life in the circus when tiger trainer Danny Gottani was mauled during a performance by Circo Gottani.
YouTube footage of the attack, filmed by an audience member, shows the tiger swiping at a stick held by the trainer. The tiger then reared up on its hind legs and appeared to grip Gottani around the shoulders while biting at his neck.
Smoke was released into the cage to confuse the tiger, which was beaten off my another circus worker. Gottani was rushed to hospital where his injuries were said to be not life-threatening, and in true show business tradition the show went on after a short interval.
The mauling follows another attack in which trainer Alexander Crispin was killed by a tiger during a performance by Circo Suarez in Mexico, in February.
How does it feel to be attacked by nature's most feared predator? I asked Britain's Martin Lacey, who survived a mauling by TWO tigers during a training session that went wrong:

Martin Lacey
who survived an attack by
two tigers.

“Suddenly I’ve got a tiger on one leg, then another tiger thought, ‘This looks like a good game, I think I’ll join in.’ So the next thing I know I’m on the ground with a tiger on each leg... it had got to the stage where I thought I was going to become a lump of meat with two tigers fighting over me.”

The aftermath, says Lacey “looked like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre,”

Yet despite needing six months before he could walk properly again, Lacey was soon back in the big cage.

Click here to read my interview with Lacey about his remarkable life with big cats.

And read a full chapter on Lacey's Great British Circus in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus. 

Click here to buy Circus Mania. 

Circus elephant escapes in Rome

Elephant on the Rome

How do you lose an elephant? Ask the staff of the Amedeo Orfei circus. Their pachyderm called Mia packed her trunk and wandered off for a sightseeing spree in Rome earlier today and was only recaptured after a couple of hours on the loose when residents called police and reported the beast loitering by Exit 11 of the Grande Raccordo Anulare highway. Presumably she was trying to hitch a lift out of town.

This is not the first elephant to escape from a circus in Rome. Just last month a different elephant was found trying to pick up a snack in a market place after escaping from a nearby big top.

By the way, doesn't that elephant have the cheekiest face? Who says they're cruelly confined when, in Italy at least, it seems they're free to wander off whenever they choose.

For more elephant stories, from the famous Jumbo to the infamous rogue Black Diamond, read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus.
Click here to buy Circus Mania.

Jazz singer Jamie Cullum puts his head in the lion's mouth (well, metaphorically speaking...)

Jazz singer Jamie Cullum has come under attack from animal rights group Animal Defenders International after playing a gig at Munich's 100-year-old circus building Circus Krone. He hasn't joined the circus or anything like that - as well as its resident circus, the building's just a venue that gets used by all manner of rock and pop performers. But, according to ADI's chief executive Jan Creamer that's not the point: he was condoning cruelty to animals just by being there.

The view from Jamie Cullum's dressing room?
Elephant and camels wintering
at Circus Krone

Anxious to head off controversy, a spokesperson for the singer told the press, "Jamie was not aware that the venue was used for live animal performances during the summer months. I can confirm that no animals featured in his performance and that he does not condone the use of live animals as a form of entertainment."

In his regular programme on BBC Radio 2, however, Cullum had already told his listeners a rather different story: "I'm actually playing a in a circus tonight. When I say a circus I mean an actual circus so when I look out my window I can see lions and tigers ... Tonight I'm literally in a circus and it's a beautiful venue and looking forward to playing here tonight."

Will ADI start picketing Cullum's gigs? Well, you know what they say about working with animals and children...

Britain's oldest
circus building
- a picture from
Circus Mania

If you've never heard of a circus building and thought circuses only appeared in tents, read the story of Britain's oldest circus building, the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book for Anyone who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus.

Click here to buy Circus Mania.

Oh, and if you'd like to buy a circus building of your own, click here for details.

Circus tigers back in Britain as Thomas Chipperfield joins Peter Jolly's Circus

Tiger, backstage at Jolly's Circus

When Martin Lacey retired from the big cat cage and closed his Great British Circus at the end of last year, I thought it was the last we'd see of lions and tigers under a British big top, especially with a government ban on wild animals in the circus proposed for 2015.

But, having mentioned Thomas Chipperfield's Circus Lion Training Video Diary in a recent post, I'm pleased to report that Chipperfield and his big cat act is currently appearing in the UK with Peter Jolly's Circus.

For this information, I'm grateful to Astley's Legacy, a blog dedicated to arguing the case for animals in circus and countering the claims of animal rights groups who oppose their use.

Philip Astley
The father of
modern circus

Astley's Legacy is an apt name, reminding us that the circus originated with animal acts - the horses of its founding father, the trick rider Philip Astley. The shape and still standard size of the circus ring was determined by Astley as the optimum space to bring his horses to a gallop and create the centrifrugal force that let him stand on their backs. If you're interested in the rights and wrongs of animals in the sawdust circle, I recommend you take a look at the blog, and also search for Chipperfield's lion training videos on YouTube.

Most of all, though, if Jolly's Circus is in your area, I urge you to go along, watch the performance, visit the animals back stage, perhaps grab the chance to ask Chipperfield any questions you have, and make up your mind for yourself.

It was doing just that, in the case of Lacey and his tigers, that helped me to question my previous instinctively held opposition to the use of performing animals and led me to write about the subject in Circus Mania - 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."

Click here to see my pictures of Thomas Chipperfield's big cats backstage at Peter Jolly's Circus. and click here to read my review of Peter Jolly's Circus.

See also my previous posts:
Training Circus Animals - Humane or pain?
Interview with Martin Lacey.
The Elephant in the Room.