Is the circus dead and buried? A circus in a cemetery digs its grave even deeper

If you go down to the cemetery... forget killer clowns.
Watch out for sacrilegious aerial dancers

Has the image of circus hit an all-time low? Once the big top was a magical place that whole families flocked to for wholesome entertainment. Clowns - how funny! Trapeze artists - how daring! Elephants - just look how big they are!

These days the media mostly greets the circus with contempt and outrage. The animal issue has, of course, decimated the traditional circus.

Last week, The Sun, the good old Current Bun, spat its hate at a "Sick" Ukrainian circus in which a bear is made to salute and a sea lion made to look as if he's playing the guitar. Who but the depraved could find pleasure in such degradation?

Clowns are no longer funny, nor even scary but just plain dangerous. This month a young man was given six months for chasing a couple down the street while dressed as a clown. Okay, he had an axe. But you'd think the fact he was dressed as a clown would have flagged the incident up as a harmless teenage prank. I mean, look at that guy in the clown suit - he's just playing around, right? But no. The judge said the fact the lad was wearing a clown mask was "an aggravating factor."

Clearly when you see a clown these days you don't think, "Ha, ha! Friendly, funny man!" You think, "Homicidal maniac! Run!"

At least there's all-human, clown-free new circus to pull circus tricks out of the mire and restore them to a place of respectability -right?

Well, there was. But now the Australian company Circa has caused fresh ire with its plans for a show in a cemetery.

"Abhorrent!" screams the headline on the BBC's website. "Disrespectful," say residents with loved ones buried nearby. "Sacrilegious!" says another.

Just when you thought these new circus Johnnies were almost civilised it turns out they're as bad as those buggers with the lions! Deport the lot of them! Or lock 'em up! Or... or... I don't know... just don't buy a ticket!

Still, there was one interesting thing in the report, and that was a surprisingly concise definition of the difference between old circus and new.

According to one objector: ".They are swinging from trees like acrobats, performing what is in effect a circus act."

I like that "in effect." Even the protesters know modern circus ain't quite circus as we remember it. Which is a fact one of the council bods sponsoring the show as part of Hull's City of Culture celebrations astutely confirms: "This is contemporary circus, which is best described as aerial dance."

I think that's something traditional circus fans have been trying to say for years.

Has New Circus Run It's Course? Circa at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival

Out in sunny California, circus blogger Showbiz David calls the arty end of circus 'big top brocolli.' I had a plateful at the weekend, but did it do me good?

Read my review of What Will Have Been by Australian ensemble Circa at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival this week, in The Stage, or read it online here. (You may have to register, but it's free.)

Edinburgh Fringe Gets Circus Hub But I’d Rather See Some Lions

Zippos star Norman Barrett OBE and his budgies

Circus is in fashion. A certain type of circus, anyway. Two years ago, Britain’s leading circus school attained ‘national’ status when it became the National Centre for Circus Arts. This year, the Edinburgh Fringe will get a £600,000 dedicated Circus Hub that will bring twelve contemporary circus shows to the Scottish city from as far afield as Canada, Australia and the Czech Republic.

According to Ed Bartlam of promoters Underbelly, “We want to create a real focal hub for the very broad genre that is circus and in that present a really high-quality programme of different styles.”

So it was sad to see Bartlam’s co-director Charlie Wood sweepingly dismissing the biggest part of circus’ ‘broad genre,’ and a part that represents nearly 250 years of circus history, in an interview with The Guardian.

“Circus is not necessarily cliched, hack, silly stuff in a big tent,” said Wood. “We’ve tried to get away from the old understanding of what circus is – nasty big tops and animals and hack clowns and so on. Circus can mean something, it can have a narrative, it can be theatrical and it can have fantastic skills in it.”

During the research for my book Circus Mania, I experienced what is indeed the ‘broad genre’ of circus, from the big budget spectacle of Cirque du Soleil to the blood-splattered Circus of Horrors and small scale companies such as Australia's Circa which is more typical of the type of circus found of the festival circuit (you can see Circa at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival later this month).

There’s no doubt that modern circus can be good. Of the acts appearing at the Circus Hub, Canada’s Cirque Alfonse wowed London in 2013 with the hugely accessible and enjoyable lumberjack circus, Timber! (Click here to read about it)

But, sad to say, much ‘narrative’ and ‘theatrical’ contemporary circus has left me yawning. In trying to “mean something,’ it has frequently lost circus’ most vital element, it’s sense of fun.

The magic of the big top

It was my visits to the sort of traditional big top-in-a-field circuses that Wood decries that made my heart beat faster, brought my senses most fully alive and imprinted me with memories that I’ll never forget. Sitting ringside at the now defunct Great British Circus, with grass underfoot and the smell of hotdogs and horses in the air, I marvelled at the immensity of elephants, swishing their trunks about to sniff the scent of the popcorn machine, so close that I leaned back in my seat. The skill and artistry of the tiger trainer was as compelling as that of the acrobats on the static trapeze.

At the still very much extant Circus Mondao, which is run by a family that has been in the circus 200 years, I was transported to a magical plane by the sight of plumed spotted horses cantering through the atmospherically lit sawdust; and reduced to helpless laughter by a soaking wet clown sliding the full diameter of the ring on his belly in a tsunami of spilt water.

Animals and genuinely funny traditional clowns are things contemporary circus would rather forget, but in turning its back on them, in the way Wood does so crassly, it loses its soul and, I would dare to say, a lot of its pulling power. For it’s the traditional circuses that have always existed on box office takings alone while most new circus relies on sponsorship and public funding.

Tsavo, a Chipperfield lion

Last year, only one circus, the deeply traditional Peter Jolly’s, fielded an act I was prepared to drive half way across the country to see: Thomas Chipperfield presenting the last lions and tigers we may ever see in a British big top. No contemporary circus show would have tempted me to travel a fraction of that distance.

The big cats were a roaring success, but predictably attracted roars of disapproval from animal rights protesters. With a long-promised ban on wild animals in the circus looming over our big tops, it seems even traditional circuses would rather go quietly into the night than rage against the dying of the circus lights.

This year, no UK circus has big cats or elephants and the biggest part of circus’ appeal, for me, seems to have left the big top with them.

Zippos, arguably Britain's most popular circus, continues to use its ring for the purpose for which it was designed - the display of horses - and long may they continue to do so. They also have ringmaster Norman Barrett OBE's performing budgies. It was a shame to see the Guardian's article on the Circus Hub take a swipe at them, too: "Circus in 2015 is far removed from memories of doleful clowns squirting water from a flower, sequinned trapeze acts, and Norman Barrett and his performing budgerigars. It’s more physical, edgy and sexy,"  writes Mark Brown.

I'd rather see some lions. But given the choice between Barrett's budgies and one of the 'circus' shows on the Hub's programme, which is thrillingly billed as "A poetic search for inner peace and the liberation of prejudice," I'll take the the budgies.

Read my backstage and ringside journey through the rich and diverse world of circus, talking to showmen, clowns, trapeze artists, sword-swallowers and tiger trainers in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With The Circus.
Click here to read the 5-star reviews on Amazon.

Cirque Bijou brings exciting new show Source to London this summer. Artristic director Billy Alwen talks about it.

They say you shouldn't judge a book by the cover, and perhaps you shouldn't judge a circus by its elevator speech. But some shows simply have a concept that instantly makes you think, hey, that sounds good, I'd like to see that; while the blurb for others can be an instant turn off.

Last year's Timber! by Cirque Alfonse was the perfect example of a show with a winning premise. Its two-word description, "lumberjack circus," tells you everything you need to know, and there's an obvious link between the theme and circus' repertoire of tricks: Russian bar performed on planks, juggling with axes, jumping through barrel hoops, whip cracking... Throw in a photo of bearded performers in long johns and braces and you can tell the show will be a hoot - which it was. (Click here for more)

This year's production of Rime by Square Peg has a similarly strong concept. I haven't seen the show, so can't say how well it realises Coolridge's epic poem, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, but it's easy to imagine how naturally a story set on a sailing ship might translate to an open-air circus show with performers swinging about on ropes and masts.

The latest show with a theme that's really caught my eye is Source, a new street circus show by Cirque Bijou. The concept?

When London’s sewers and underground system were first created, six tunnellers were sent underground in a secret mission to find and save the sources of London’s rivers before they became buried forever. Now, 158 years later, during building works for London’s new super-sewer, these curious long-forgotten tunnellers emerge, travelling with their giant mobile water-spurting laboratory in a burst of song, dance and acrobatic displays. 

According to artistic director Billy Alwen: "I’d had the idea for a while about doing a show about hidden underground rivers in London. I think people often forget that these rivers exist. Some of them have been concreted over and some have been diverted underground. I thought it was a very rich theme, particularly as there are plans at this point in time to completely renew the sewer system under London at huge expense, and there’s a whole discussion about why that needs to happen. I wanted to bring the under world back above the ground.

"We made seven human powered machines for the Olympics and because they cost a fair amount to make, we always said we wanted to use them again. So one of them is going to be re-used as our tunnelling machine. So this machine will effectively be the stage, the set and the PA system for the show. All the circus will happen around that machine, and then that machine will travel around from one venue to the other. 

"Circus is very difficult to put on outdoors with all the rigging you need for trapeze, so I wanted to make a show that was self-contained and didn’t need lots of rigs and equipment. We wanted to be able to put one plug into the wall and be ready to go."

If the above whets your appetite, you can catch Source free of charge in the following London locations:

Millfield Arts Centre 26th July

Tara Arts 16th August

Harrow Arts Centre 23rd August

Arts Depot 30th August

Watermans 13th September

The Albany 4th October

Cirque Bijou light up the sky
suspended from a crane.

Cirque Bijou, incidentally, is a company with a small name and a penchant for BIG stunts, such as flying UFOs above the audience and marching giant robots across the stage at Muse concerts. Their outdoor crane shows, featuring trapeze artists tumbling within giant hoops of fire while fireworks whiz all around them are truly spectacular.

Definitely a circus company to look out for.

"I loved this book."
- 5-star Amazon customer
review

For more on narrative circus and the ways circus and theatre can be merged to great effect - or not, as is the case with some shows - read my journey through Britain's ever changing, never changing circus scene, from traditional big top and sawdust shows to the Circus of Horrors, musical clowns The Chipolatas, Spain's Circ Panic, Australia's Circa and all stops in between, in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus.

Click here to read the customer reviews on Amazon.

If you hate visiting the dentist, don't read this interview with Australian circus girl Chelsea McGuffin

Chelsea McGuffin
Photo by Raphale Helle
Courtesy of Norfolk and Norwich Festival

The great thing about circus is that no matter how many shows you see you always get at least one thing that’s jaw-dropping amazing. Australian acrobat Chelsea McGuffin provided one of many such moments when I visited a performance by leading Aussie company Circa during the writing of Circus Mania. Midway through the show, Darcy Grant hooked his fingers in her mouth and, to the audible disbelief of the packed audience, dangled her from the trapeze by her teeth, like a fish on a line.


Last year I ran into Chelsea again when she was appearing in Cantina, a show she’d devised herself as the centerpiece of the five-month London Wonderground festival at the Southbank Centre. I reminded her of the tooth hang and had to ask... doesn’t that hurt?

“It doesn’t hurt too much. It’s more about having the will to do it. Circus is something you have to be very passionate about to commit to and want to wake up everyday for. But it’s definitely what I’m passionate about.”

How did you get into circus?

“I sort of fell into it. I thought ballet was my calling but in my early 20s I stumbled across a circus class in Sydney that I really enjoyed. From there I joined a nomadic circus called Circus Monoxide. It was a contemporary circus but very much based on the traditional model of travelling to town and setting up our rig and our tent. That’s where I learned most of my skills as well as things like how to negotiate living on a bus with 12 other people. It was a great life experience.”

An OMG moment
as Darcy Grant
prepares to suspend
Chelsea McGuffin
....by her teeth!

How big is circus down under?

"For a small population like Australia, circus is quite big. Our two major companies are Circa and Circus Oz but there are many smaller groups and a lot of independent work. Every state has a circus school, but we lack the audience numbers so a lot of work gets created but it’s more likely to have its life overseas.”

Does circus have a retirement age?

“I think it’s up to how long you feel like being on stage and how long your body can hold out. I’m 36 and I don’t recover as fast as I did in my 20s. But it’s still something I’m really passionate about and I hope I can keep doing it for many years yet.”

For more examples of the pain circus performers put themselves through in the name of art, read Circus Mania. Be warned, though, that the chapter on the Circus of Horrors is not for the squeamish. One of America’s most eminent circus writers admitted there were some sentences he couldn’t bear to read!

See also: The circus girl with the strongest hair in the world.

HOW LIKE AN ANGEL

NEW CIRCA SHOW TAKES FLIGHT

Australian circus girl
Chelsea McGuffin
in an earlier production by
Circa that you can read
about in
Circus Mania

(Photo by Raphael Helle,
courtesy Norfolk and Norwich
Festival)

One of the most visually unusual circus shows this summer is likely to be How Like An Angel, a mixture of acrobatics and 16th and 17th century choral music that has been specially created to tour four of England’s most striking cathedrals: Norwich, Ely, Gloucester and Ripon.

The show is the brainchild of Yaron Lifschitz, artistic director of Australian company Circa, who has teamed up with Robert Hollingworth, musical director of I Fagiolini to create a show that will see aerial artists flying through the high empty spaces of the four magnificent medieval buildings.

The tour kicks off in Norwich Cathedral June 26 - 28, before moving to Ely (July 2-3), Gloucester (July 16- 17) and Ripon (July 19 - 20). Tickets for Norwich cost £20 by phone on 01603 766400 or in person from the box office of the Norwich Theatre Royal.

In the meantime, you can catch up with the story of Yaron Lifschitz and Circa in Circus Mania by Douglas McPherson.

Circus Mania includes a chapter on Circa’s previous visit to Norwich when the company performed in the atmospheric setting of a traditional European Spiegeltent, or ‘mirror tent.’ A dramatic description of the show’s Chelsea McGuffin being suspended by her front teeth is followed by a next-morning interview with Lifschitz in which the director explains with a chuckle that in circus “Some things just hurt.”

Circus Mania, which also includes some eye-popping pictures of Circa in action, retails at £14.99 but you can save £5 by buying it direct from Peter Owen Publishers at the special offer price of just £10 postage-free in the UK (£2.75 postage rest of world). Send cheques to:

Peter Owen Publishers
81 Ridge Road
London N8 9NP

www.peterowen.com

Also read my interview with Chelsea McGuffin.

Circus Mania a Good Read!

My thanks to Circus Mania reader Shana Kennedy for posting the following review on www.goodread.com :

Australian circus girl
Chelsea McGuffin
- Read the
behind-the-scenes
story of her
wince-inducing
performance with
 Circa
in Circus Mania
(Photo by
Sandrine Penda,
 courtesy
Norfolk and Norwich
Festival)

‘A decent circus book for us groupies... a quote I particularly connected with: "I realize...the rows of seats behind me are going to remain empty... But as the lights go down it ceases to matter. In a theatre you would feel the emptiness of a poorly attended house sapping the atmosphere. The big top, by contrast, seems to close snugly around us, emphasizing only our proximity to the ring and the impending action."’

If you’re tempted to read some more, save £5 off the retail price by ordering Circus Mania direct from Peter Owen Publishers at the special offer price of £10 postage free in the UK (£2.75 postage rest of world). Send cheques to:
Peter Owen Publishers
81 Ridge Road
London N8 9NP
Credit card orders during office hours: 020 8350 1775