Thursday 24 December 2020
Tuesday 24 November 2020
Big top pantomime from Planet Circus
It's behind you! But not this year's big top entertainment, as one of the UK's biggest circus companies pitches its tent for a big top pantomime this Christmas.
Planet Circus is putting on Cinderella in Lincolnshire from 11 December to 3 January.
Other yuletide entertainment includes a Christmas season at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome while the Circus of Horrors kicks off its Revamped and Rockin' theatre tour at Wookey Hole January 8.
And the good news is that the social distancing and other safety measures that Britain's big tops have put in place since returning to the road this summer have proved effective.
According to official test and trace results, not a single transmission of Covid-19 has been attributed to a circus or theatre show this year.
Thursday 5 November 2020
Remember, remember
This darkness will not last forever. There will some day come a Fifth of November — or another date, it doesn't matter — when fires will burn in a chain of brightness from Land's End to John O' Groats. The children will dance and leap about them as they did in the times before. They will take each other by the hand and watch the rockets breaking, and afterwards they will go home singing to the houses full of light...
P. L. Travers,
Monday 13 July 2020
Uncle Sam's Great American Circus in Rhyl, from 29 July
As Britain's big tops spring up all over the UK once more, Uncle Sam's Great American Circus has announced that it will be trucking into Rhyl on 29 July.
Click here to see my pictures of Uncle Sam's trademark American trucks when the show visited Norwich.
Saturday 11 July 2020
Wonder Circus announces summer season in Skegness
As circuses return to the road post-lockdown, the traditionally-slanted Wonder Circus has announced its summer season from 1 August to 6 September in the seaside town of Skegness.
Information line: 07719 877 422.
SEE ALSO:
Click HERE for more.
Click here to buy the 2nd edition from Amazon.
Friday 10 July 2020
Gandeys Circus returns at Halloween
Following the announcement that outdoor theatre can open from 11 July, Gandeys Circus appears to be the first big top show to announce show dates, with a Halloween Spooktacular in the West Midlands from 21 October to 1 November.
Gandeys has been working with the government and Bourne Leisure, owners of Butlins holiday camps, to pilot an airflow system and other logistics to make circus safe in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
For bookings and showtimes, visit Gandeys Circus website.
Gandeys' director, third generation circus man Phillip Gandey, has a history of innovative productions including the Chinese State Circus, Spirit of the Horse and charity circus Circus Starr, which raises funds to entertain ill and disadvantaged children. For the full story of the remarkable Circus Starr, click here.
SEE ALSO:
Click HERE for more.
Click here to buy the 2nd edition from Amazon.
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.
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| 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.
Tuesday 7 July 2020
The day the circus marched on Downing Street
These are pictures of a circus march to 10 Downing Street to demand that the government either includes Britain's circuses in its bailout of theatre venues, or lifts the lockdown restrictions to let big tops reopen and start earning a living again.
The protesters attempted to deliver to Prime Minister Boris Johnson a letter from the Association of Circus Proprietors, which represents 18 circuses and around 500 performers.
ACP chairman and Zippos founder Martin Burton told the news crews who covered the march: "Sadly, circuses seem to have fallen through the cracks of all the rescue package schemes - we pay rent to individual landowners as we tour - and do not have business rateable properties.
"In addition, no commercial circuses have qualified for the any of the £160m emergency Arts Council funding despite generating significant income to the economy through the 30-plus UK circuses and internationally visiting shows such as Cirque du Soleil which combined are seen by around 20 million people a year."
"Its greatest slogan 'the show must go on' could well become a thing of the past if urgent assistance is not forthcoming."
Britain's circuses have been closed since the lockdown in March and remain so while easing of restrictions in other sectors has in recent weeks seen thousands of day trippers cram onto Britain's beaches and, since the reopening of pubs on Saturday 4 July, crowds of drinkers pack shoulder to shoulder in Soho with no regard for social distancing.
As circus insiders such as ringmaster Chris Barltrop have pointed out, Britain's travelling circuses are better equipped to implement social distancing precautions during performances than many permanent venues. The sides of a big top can be opened for greater air movement or reconfigured to provide any number of exits, while the seating can be spaced as required. Additionally, circus performers are largely non-verbal so there is less risk of COVID-19 being spread by airborne droplets (a risk that has been attributed to performances including actors, singers and wind instruments).
Because circus companies live together on site, and travel together, it's possible to categorise them as a family bubble, negating the need for social distancing between the performers themselves. In many cases, individual acts comprise actual family units - something seldom the case in other branches of the performing arts.
UPDATE: 10 July, 2020
The government has since announced that 'outdoor theatre' can resume from 11 July. That includes circuses, although subject to meeting the social distancing and other requirements of the individual local authorities where they perform.
Gandeys is the first big top show to announce dates, with a Halloween show in October. Click here to read more.
Paulos, meanwhile, launches Britain's first drive-in circus on 16 July. Click here for more.
Thursday 21 May 2020
Big Kid Circus Cake marks 91 years in the big top for circus star Doreen Enos
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| Circus star at 91 |
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.
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| And in circus summers gone by. |
Wednesday 13 May 2020
The locked-down circus goes on... online!
The Big Kid Circus was built up on Morecambe seafront in the UK, about to launch its new show Circus de Cuba, when the country was locked down. Unable to open to the public, they've put their show online instead...
Thursday 12 March 2020
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