A gathering of showmen... to discuss the future of the circus

 

Martin 'Zippo' Burton addresses Britain's largest gathering of circus bosses,
with Clive Webb of Cirque du Hilarious in front row.

What is the collective noun for circus directors? How about a glittering of showmen?

The above picture (kindly supplied by Paulos Circus) is from last month's Association of Circus Proprietors of Great Britain meeting, which saw what has been claimed to be the largest gathering of big top owners ever assembled in the UK, and perhaps the world.

The attendance at the Leonardo Hotel in Hinckley Island, Leicestershire, included both ACP members and non-members, friends and rivals.

They came together as part of an effort by the industry to have circus made part of the government's Intangible Cultural Heritage inventory and recognised as a cultural tradition worthy of safeguarding.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage convention was established by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) in 2003 to preserve living traditions around the globe in areas such as performing arts, social practices, and traditional craftsmanship that are passed down through generations.

The UK signed up to the convention in 2024, and the ACP believes ICH status "Will put circus on a par with other art forms – a situation that exists in most of continental Europe."

"It will also provide Circus with a right to be consulted as an equal partner and stakeholder when government policy for the Arts and other associated matters is under consideration," the ACP states.

So far, more than 10,000 people have signed a government petition, which surpassed the threshold where the government has to consider the application.

You can sign the petition by clicking here.

In theory, ICH status could enhance the standing of circuses when approaching local authorities to book showgrounds or apply for funding. However, it was apparent from Facebook discussions after the event that some show runners remain unclear what the benefits will be.

Kenny Darnell Jr of Paulos Circus was at the meeting, and has kindly given us his insider's view of the proceedings:

“My position on the proposed ICH status still remains somewhat reserved. Although I support it in principle, I do not yet feel sufficiently informed to form a definitive view on it, I'm afraid. I am aware that Ireland has already secured ICH recognition for circus, yet it appears to have brought about little tangible change in practice or protection there. That in itself invites further scrutiny as to what meaningful impact such status would deliver here.

“Although it was said that around 50 individuals were in attendance, I would estimate the number to have been closer to 40, looking back on my photos from the meeting. It's also worth saying that not all present were circus proprietors. Even in my own case, I attended as a manager, representing my Father & our family’s circus, rather than in the capacity of proprietor. There was still a sense of separation between the ACP members & non ACP members, even with the narrative of we should be working together towards a common goal.

“The meeting itself offered very limited clarity. It lacked the depth & detail one might have expected for a matter of such cultural significance, even the anticipated contribution from the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) did not happen, as their representative failed to appear via video link, which rather undermined the gravity of the discussion, or answered all the questions being raised.

“That being said, the conversation surrounding the preservation & recognition of circus as a living tradition is an important one. Our industry has endured, adapted & evolved for generations. Whatever course is taken, it must genuinely serve & safeguard the future of the circus in all its forms. Circus has been around for generations before us, & all in the room want to work to ensure its survival for generations to come.

“Long live the circus”

Kenny Darnell Jr's family has been in the circus business for seven generations and traded under the Paulo’s brand for more than 120 years. Click here to visit the Paulo's Facebook page.

Who will fill their circus shoes? RIP Phillip Gandey, John Haze, Gerry Cottle and Nell Gifford

It was a shock this week to hear of the death of Phillip Gandey (pictured above with the cast of Gandeys Circus) at the tragically young age of 67.

When I interviewed Gandey for The Stage in 2020, he was a man full of life. Having just reopened three big tops in Butlins holiday centres, after lockdown restrictions were lifted, his one regret was that he didn't have his usual "five or six" shows simultaneously running in locations from the Edinburgh Festival to the Far and Middle East.

Gandey was born into the circus world. A clown aged three, and a knife-thrower at 11, he inherited his father's circus and became the world's youngest circus director at 17.

With his wife, Carol, he established Gandey World Class Productions as the UK's premier exporter of circus shows. When Gandeys Circus stopped using animals in the early 1990s, Gandey became one of the industry's great innovators, seeking fresh ideas to fill the gap left by big cats and elephants.

He brought a Chinese troupe of acrobats to the UK and created the Chinese State Circus, which became one of the country's most successful touring shows. He also created the cabaret-style Lady Boys of Bangkok, Cirque Surreal, Spirit of the Horse and the fundraising Circus Starr (which you can read about here).

One of his newest creations, the circus-on-ice show Snow Storm 3 is currently delighting audiences at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. His Great Circus of Europe, meanwhile, has toured Hong Kong, Singapore, and is currently in the Arab Emirates.

Gandey's passing leaves a huge hole in the circus world, and follows the loss of another great British showman, John Haze, who died in April this year at almost exactly the same young age.

Haze, like Gandey, was both artistic director and businessman, creating the long-running success story the Circus of Horrors and currently the UK's biggest big top show, Circus Extreme (read my review here).

Sadly, it was only a couple of years ago that both Haze and Gandey were paying tribute to another great showman, and a collaborator with both of them, Gerry Cottle, probably the best-known name in UK circus since the 1970s, who died in January 2021, aged 75.

Circus Mania author Douglas McPherson
with Gerry Cottle (left) and John Haze.

It was not long before that, that the circus world was shocked by the loss to cancer of Nell Gifford, aged just 46. (Read her story here)

Nell Gifford

In the space of four years, Britain has lost four of the most important circus impresarios of modern times. Each was an innovator and energiser, breathing new life into a world of big top and circus ring that was created in London by Philip Astley more than 250 years ago. 

They formed a generation of circus-producing talent fit to be remembered alongside their predecessors in earlier eras: Billy Smart, the Chipperfields, Bertram Mills, Lord Sanger and Astley himself. 

Like four king poles, Gandey, Haze, Cottle and Gifford lifted the tent of British circus high. But with their departure, the big top will not fall.

Although all four were driving forces and figureheads, they were not one-person companies. Each left behind a creative team and/or family members to carry on their legacy. Giffords Circus, the Circus of Horrors and Circus Extreme continue to tour without their creators and the many shows of Phillip Gandey will doubtless do likewise, capably overseen by Carol Gandey and their daughters.

We still have another of our greatest showmen, Martin 'Zippo' Burton, whose twin shows in Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland this Christmas reveal the Zippos brand to be at the top of its game.

And a new generation of circus blood is rising, inspired by the generation that came before. People like Tracy Jones who ran away with the circus when she was 15 and learned her craft having knives thrown at her by Phillip Gandey himself. Jones travelled the world with Gandeys Circus, an apprenticeship that stood her in good stead to start her own show, Circus Funtasia, which is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Also on the ascent are Paul and Irina Archer who spent many years working with Haze in behind-the-scenes roles on the Moscow State Circus and Circus Extreme before launching their own colourful and contemporary-styled big top show Circus Cortex two years ago. The show is currently starring at the indoor Kingdom of Winter attraction at ExCel London. 

Around the country, Planet Circus, Circus Zyair and Big Kid Circus are providing top drawer circus entertainment to big audiences in what feels like a thriving scene.

It's easy to see the passing of giants like Phillip Gandey, Haze, Cottle and Gifford as the end of an era. But in the circus, there are no ends. The show will always go on. And as much as they will be missed, I'm sure that Gandey, Haze, Cottle and Gifford would want it no other way.

 

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.

The Vegan Agenda - Why Circuses Were Just The Thin Edge of the Wedge

Warning from the big top

For decades now, campaigners such as ADI (Animal Defenders International) and Peta (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) have been saying that circus animals are cruelly treated. And it's worked. Animals have been gradually squeezed out of the circus ring on both sides of the Atlantic by local legislation that prevented circuses operating in prime municipally owned venues and, increasingly, national bans, such as the one has has this month come into force in Scotland.

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus, the self-proclaimed Greatest Show on Earth and arguably most iconic circus in the world, was forced to close after more than a century because of such legislation.

The evidence does not support these bans. In 2007, the UK government-commissioned Radford report found circuses were as capable of meeting their animals' needs as zoos or other captive environments. Since 2012, a licensing scheme has regulated the use of wild animals in circuses and has produced no evidence of mistreatment.

The government has announced, however, that when the licensing scheme expires it will not be extended, bringing in a ban by default.

Why are circus animals being banned if there's no evidence that they are intrinsically cruel?

Martin Burton

When I interviewed Zippos owner Martin Burton for my book Circus Mania he explained that the campaigners were motivated by a deeper agenda: they didn't believe people should even keep pets or eat meat.

At the time, I confess that I didn't fully connect the dots. Yes, I thought, anti-circus campaigners may well be anti-vivisectionists and vegetarians and so on... but I couldn't see that side of their agenda catching on with the wider public. It's one thing to support a campaign against perceived or alleged cruelty (whether proven or just suggested) another to turn your back on meat and pets.

In the last couple of years, however, the mass media push for veganism has been impossible to miss. You can't open a newspaper or magazine without reading about a new meat-free business or recipes for meat-free meals.

Today the circus,
Tommorow...?

Protests against fast food restaurants, supermarkets and local butchers are becoming as familiar as the demonstrations that were once confined to circuses. I have seen full-page national newspaper adverts against milk production, which shows how well-funded and/or connected the vegan lobby is.

The anti-circus campaigners, meanwhile, are revealing their wider hand. At the foot of a press release that came my way today, ADI outlined its mission:

Active worldwide to end the suffering of animals: animals in entertainment – film, television, advertising, circuses, and sport or leisure; animals used for food or fur; protection of wildlife and the environment; trade in animals; zoos, pets, entertainment, and laboratories.

Note the words "food" and "pets" - there for all to see.

It's very similar to Peta's slogan, as displayed on its website:

ANIMALS ARE NOT OURSto eat, wear, experiment on, use forentertainment or abuse in any other way

The ADI press release was in support of a film called Anima, in which representatives from 12 religions talk about changing our attitudes to meat.

According to one of the participants, Rabbi Singer: “Our belief in Judaism is that God never actually meant us to eat animals,” explaining “In the Garden of Eden, God shows us the fruit of the trees, the grass in the fields, and says ‘You may have any of this to eat.’ But God never mentioned animals.”

ADI president Jan Creamer, meanwhile, has this to say: “Millions of people across the world draw their beliefs and perceptions about the other species who share our planet, from their faith. There has never been a more important time to challenge themisunderstandings which have, in the past, been used to justify exploitation of animals. As Dr Lo Sprague says in ANIMA, every religion has compassion as part of its mandate. It is time to mobilize that.”


The film appears to say nothing about circuses, but the fact it is being promoted by ADI proves what the circus industry has been telling us all along: that the massive fundraising campaigns built around 'circus cruelty' were never really about circus cruelty at all, just part of a wider agenda.

As the post-circus campaign for worldwide veganism unfolds around us, it's a shame the warnings from the big top mostly fell on deaf ears.

Aerialist by Rebecca Truman - Book Review

Rebecca Truman is the Grande Dame of aerial. “Cut me in half and I will have aerialist written all the way through,” she writes in this engrossing memoir.

In 1988, Truman founded Skinning the Cat, a pioneering all-woman trapeze troupe that performed principally at outdoor events throughout Britain and Europe, but also in circus tents and theatres. Truman was star, costumer, artistic director, rigger, truck driver... in fact, she did pretty much everything. Her reluctance or inability to delegate responsibility led to an punishing schedule that eventually brought her to the point of breakdown.

“My years as an aerialist are divided into before and after the falls,” she writes on the first page. “Those accidents changed everything. Before the falls I was running wild and fulfilling my fantasies. Afterwards, it became all too real.”

The Silver Tree rig

When Truman’s colleague Lou plunges head-first to a concrete floor, the dangers of trapeze are brought violently home to the reader. Was Lou’s accident Truman’s responsibility for running an un-funded company too close to the brink of exhaustion? When Truman subsequently breaks an ankle (that never heals properly) was it her fault for bringing a still-recovering Lou back to work too soon, or for not training her sufficiently on the lunge that would have prevented Truman’s accident?

Those are the questions that haunt her as company leader. But the show always goes on. Forced to hobble on stage on crutches, Truman creates a character that makes the crutch part of her act. In the air, the trapeze frees her from her disability.

Everyone in the circus has a colourful story to tell, but few can tell their own tale as well as Truman. In this gripping journey into the life and mind of a trapeze artist, Truman writes with all the evocative colour and underlying precision of the shows she describes

With a novelist’s eye for detail, she brilliantly evokes the glitter and grit of her surroundings at art school, in training gyms, in lorries and caravans, and freezing cold offices in derelict former woollen mills.

For students of the trapeze, Aerialist is essential reading. There’s an insider’s manual worth of detail on every aspect of how to run and rig a show, down to how to remove a cobblestone from a town square in order to drive in a stake to anchor the rig - or, if that doesn’t work, anchor it from a builder’s skip.

Chameleon rig

But this is also the story of a life. From a bohemian childhood scarred by sexual abuse by her grandfather, and the death of her father when she was young, to the nervous breakdown when all those unresolved issues eventually caught up with her, Truman reveals how her career on the trapeze was driven by the desire to escape.

Her narrative is broken up and enriched by the accounts of her mother, company members and, memorably, Zippos founder Martin Burton who recalls asking the Arts Council for funding in the days when circus wasn’t recognised as an art form. Sitting in opulent offices full of furniture he reckoned was worth more than his entire circus, he was told, “If we had any money we’d give it to you.”

Since they claimed not to have the money, he decided to steal the reception desk - a plan that failed when he couldn’t get it through the revolving doors.

Many years later, when Burton was appointed chairman of the Arts Council's Circus Advisory Committee, he told them, “You obviously don’t remember the last time I was here.” “Yes we do,” they said, “which is why the desk is screwed down.”

The text is also peppered with information boxes that provide a glossary of trapeze moves and equipment - Skinning the Cat takes its name from an aerial manoeuvre - plus some poems by Truman that offer insights into an aerialist’s connection to her work that mere prose couldn’t quite capture.

It all adds up to a thrilling read that sits with the best circus memoirs, such as Nell Gifford’s Gifford’s Circus - The First Ten Years (and Josser, written as Nell Stroud) and Gerry Cottle’s Confessions of a Showman.

Click here to order Aerialist by Rebecca Truman from Amazon.

See also: 10 Books for Circus250!

Scotland and Ireland ban wild animals from the big top as the traditional circus slowly disappears

Thomas Chipperfield presents the last big cats
to grace Peter Jolly's Circus, in 2014

“I remember the elephants - just.” Those are the words with which I began Circus Mania. From the first line there was a whiff of nostalgia about my survey of the circus world, even though the focus was not on the history of the big top but a journey through the circus scene as it exists today. The Mail on Sunday called the book “A brilliant account of a vanishing art form.” Naturally I was pleased to use the quote in publicity, although some circus aficianados objected to the word “vanishing”. Surely, they argued, the contemporary circus scene is flourishing? A ‘circus hub’ at the Edinburgh Festival and ‘national’ status for the former training school, Circus Space, which became the National Centre for Circus Arts in 2014, reflects a new appreciation for an age-old form of entertainment in today’s arts scene.

But as we enter 2018 - Circus250! - the 250th anniversary of Philip Astley’s first circus, a large part of the circus tradition is vanishing - the tradition of animals as a major part of the traditional circus bill.

The circus was born on horseback - Philip Astley was a trick rider who built his show around equestrian skills. Lions, elephants, sea lions and chimps’ tea parties became, by the mid-20th century part of everyone’s idea of what a circus is.

Today, though, the animals are disappearing fast.

As PT Barnum biopic The Greatest Showman hits cinema screens, the show that bore his name, the 146-year-old Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is no more. Legislation meant it could no longer tour with its elephants and without them it couldn’t sell tickets.

In Britain, meanwhile, just two weeks before the start of Circus250, the Scottish parliament unanimously signed off a ban on wild animals (by which it means all non-native species) in travelling circuses.

Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said the legislation meant "we will finally and at last truly be able to say Nelly the Elephant has packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus".

It is the first such ban of its kind in the UK, but will it be the last - and will it end with wild animals or prove to be the thin end of a wedge that eventually squeezes even horses - the animal upon which the circus was founded - from a sawdust circle literally designed for four-legged entertainment?

Martin 'Zippo' Burton
(on the right)

Zippos Circus owner Martin Burton, representing the Association of Circus Proprietors, told the Scottish Parliament that a law based on the proposed ethical grounds "will eventually close your zoos".

He said: "The economic impact on animal displays in shopping centres, on displays at outdoors shows of hawks and wild birds, on reindeer and Santa, and eventually zoos will be massive.

"Once you start banning things, particularly on ethical grounds, it is clear that this will spread, because if it's ethically not right to have a wild animal in a circus, then it is ethically not right to have a wild animal appear at a gala or a county show, and it is ethically not right to have a wild animal appear in a shopping centre, and it is ethically not right to have a wild animal appear in a zoo.

"It is clear and logical that that is the only way an ethical ban can go. You can't choose your ethics, you're either going to say it is ethical or it is not ethical."

Burton’s words are being bourn out in Wales, where the Welsh government is currently planning to introduce a new license for Mobile Animal Exhibitions (MAEs). The legislation is aimed at circuses, but because of the difficulty of defining a circus in a way that separates it from other animal exhibitions, the Countryside Alliance and Kennel Club have raised concerns about the effect on other ‘MAEs’ from cattle shows and dog shows to falconry displays.

Across the Irish Sea, the Irish government decreed in November that wild animals would be banned from travelling circuses in Ireland from January 1, 2018.

In England, a ban on wild animals in the big top proposed by David Cameron’s government has so far been staved off with a successful licensing scheme, although the Scottish ban will give fresh ammunition to the animal rights groups pressing for a ban south of the border.

But even without a national ban, local council legislation has reduced the number of ‘wild’ animals in Britain’s big tops to a handful of camels and zebras spread across Peter Jolly’s Circus and Circus Mondao, while only two or three more circuses, such as Zippos, still have even horses or dogs.

The news reminds me of how lucky I was, as a late convert to the appeal of the big top, to visit the Great British Circus during the writing of Circus Mania and be able to report upon the elephants and tigers that I saw there. At the time, it felt like a rare glimpse into a disappearing past. Re-reading that chapter today, with the Great British Circus now five years closed, I wonder if it was the last glimpse of such a circus that any of us will ever see in the UK again.

Is the disappearance of the animals a good thing for the circus? It's an issue I grappled with during the writing of Circus Mania. I was brought up to believe it was a cruel tradition, but as I interviewed animal trainers and show owners and saw more shows, my understanding grew. By the time I wrote a new chapter for the updated 2018 edition of the book and described my visit to Peter Jolly's Circus my opinion on this always contentious subject had changed a lot from the one I had before I saw my first circus with animals. Perhaps yours will, too.

Click here to buy the updated, new edition of Circus Mania and read about my journey through a world that is disappearing fast.

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?

Zippos Winter Wonderland

Love this aerial shot of Zippos circus 'Mega Dome' big top nestled among the fairground rides and stalls of Winter Wonderland in London's Hyde Park. And my hat's off to whoever took it from the very high vantage point of a thrill ride called Schneider's Power Tower.

Roll up, roll up until January 4.

For the inside story on the birth of Zippos circus, meanwhile, read my chapter-long interview with founder Martin Burton in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With the Circus. Click here to buy it from Amazon.

Zippos fans want elephants and lions

As the travelling circus season comes to an end, what sort of acts would you like to see in next year’s shows? Zippos asked its patrons that question on its Facebook page and among calls for a human cannonball, tightrope and globe of death, it’s clear that animals remain a priority. Here are some of the replies (each from a different respondent):

“Elephants and big cats and maybe some exotics.”

“A dog act would be good.”

“Plenty of horses and some lions too please.”

“An elephant would be nice.”

“Monkeys.”

A further 10 of the 32 replies expressed a desire to see again the horses and budgies that are a staple of the Zippos experience. In the chapter on Zippos in my book, Circus Mania, showman Martin Burton said he introduced animals to his circus because of popular demand after ten years of operating as an all-human show. He added he had a policy of featuring only domestic animals, never wild ones. But in a time of a looming ban on wild animals in the circus, it's interesting that the demand to see them is still there from some fans at least.

Zippos Christmas Circus will be at Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park from 21 November to 4 January.

Cirque du Soleil's Kooza Preview - Royal Albert Hall Jan 7 - Feb 8

My previous post on Mr Fips Wonder Circus highlighted the division between circus and cirque, the former term being associated with traditional, family-friendly big top shows and the latter with contemporary or progressive theatre-based productions.

It’s a fluid division, of course, and not a battle line. Showman Martin Burton presents Cirque Berserk alongside his traditional Zippos circus and argues that the important question isn’t whether circus is old or new but good or bad.

Katherine Kavanagh, who reviews a tremendous quantity and variety of circus shows on her blog The Circus Diaries rightly commented that shows with cirque in the title can be as accessible as those with circus, and vice versa.

Katherine also mentioned Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza, which comes to London's Royal Albert Hall from January 7 to February 8. Soleil was largely responsible for the rise of the term cirque and its adoption by a proliferation of companies hoping to grab a little of Soleil’s thunder. So I’m pleased to report that Kooza not only asserts Soleil’s supremacy atop the tree of cirque but is a very accessible and circusy show.

It’s a pity Soleil won’t be pitching the big top - or Grand Chapiteau - of its American travels in Hyde Park, although the in-the-round setting of the Royal Albert Hall is perfect for circus, and circus buildings actually pre-date tents, recalling the atmosphere of Astley’s Amphitheatre in the early 19th century.

A pity, too, that (as far as I know) they won’t be bringing superstar juggler Anthony Gatto who seems to have done that most un-superstar-like thing and retired at the peak of his powers.

But Kooza has many thrills still to offer, including a three-person human pyramid on bicycles on a high-wire; a wheel of death and some charismatic solo trapeze from Darya Vintilova (in the States at least; I guess the cast may change).

On the ground, meanwhile, there’s a charming double act on a single unicycle that works both as ballet - the depiction of a romance between the characters - and gymnastics: the girl standing on the male unicyclist’s head.

Kooza - check your pockets before you leave.

The highlight is a clown pickpocket routine originated by Michael Halvarson. While Soleil is great at doing ‘big,’ it’s compelling to watch a ‘close-up’ act where we can see how the volunteer’s tie is removed with out him realising.

The routine is slickly scripted, with sly lines like “You’re a waste bin, my friend,” as some scrap paper is returned to the victim, and the punch-line: “Don’t forget your Viagra!”

The sketch ends with an exploding police wagon and disappearing trick that would fit perfectly into Mr Fips Wonder Circus.

So yes, cirque can be as accessible as circus.

The only trouble is, having watched all the best bits on YouTube, would I drive 100 miles each way to spend an evening in the Albert Hall?

(And you thought I'd seen it America, didn't you...?)

Big Apple on the Big Screen

Which brings me to New York’s Big Apple Circus. On November 8, the Apple streamed its show live to cinemas across America. US blogger Showbiz David found himself watching it in a near deserted cinema in California, as did his brother in Utah.

In a country as big as America the broadcast offered circus fans a fantastic opportunity to see a show that would normally cost them a tremendous amount in airfares and hotel accommodation - so it's hard to know why so few turned up. Maybe it just wasn't promoted enough and nobody knew about it.

It would be wonderful if the Big Apple extended the favour to the rest of the world. Perhaps the organisers of UK circus festivals should consider augmenting their programmes of visiting acts with live cinema shows of circuses from around the world, letting us watch the gold acts of Monte Carlo, the elephants of Ringling or, indeed, Soleil in Las Vegas.

But can watching a circus in a cinema, or at home on a DVD or YouTube, be as good as sitting ringside? Or could it even be better?

The atmosphere of a big top, with grass under foot and popcorn in the air, has to be experienced first hand. But multiple camera angles and close-ups can offer a better view than the best seat in the house.

The Kooza pickpocket, for example, was enthralling for me because on screen in close-up I could see everything so clearly. Would I have been able to follow the routine as closely from a side seat ten rows back?

Darya Vintilova’s trapeze act was enhanced by the sudden close-ups of her face that let us see the exhilaration in her eyes.

Trapeze
Click here forreview

Circus acts are by their nature often too fast for the eye to fully catch, so might there be a place for the slow-motion action replay? I’ve seen many flying trapeze acts, for example, but watching from the ground has never matched the drama of the trapeze scenes in the (fictional) movie Trapeze, where we’re given a real sense of vertigo.

Finally, while experiencing a show in person may be more atmospheric, not all atmosphere is good atmosphere. Take the ‘atmosphere’ of a tall person sat directly in front of you, a noisy eater to your side and a coughing kid behind you, and the distraction of people fiddling about with their brightly lit phones. How about the queue for the loos and scramble for over-priced refreshments? Or the traffic jam at the car park?

Douglas McPherson
Frankly, he'd rather be at home...

One advantage of traditional circus is that the big top comes to your local town or village. You may not see the biggest or best acts, but you can park easily or go on foot and prices tend to be on the low side, whereas most cirque shows necessitate a trip to a bigger town or city with its attendant cost and bother.

At home, though, you get the best acts in the world without the crowds or hassle and, dare I say it, a volume control and fast forward button - things I often sorely wish for when I’m reviewing shows in person.

Cirque or circus, live or on screen. Ultimately, it’s not a matter of one being better than the other, more that they all have advantages and disadvantages, and they all have a role to play in making all our days circus days.

Read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With The Circus. Click here to read the reviews on Amazon.

Zippos tour dates in Scotland, Sheffield, London and South East

Man of Steel
Zippos strong man Hercules

Zippos circus have announced their tour dates for the next couple of months. Why can't other travelling circuses do that?

VENUES THE LINKS, PETERHEAD – 11 July – 13 July

AUCTION MART SITE, ELGIN – 15 July – 20 July

WEST LINKS, BANFF – 21 July – 23 July 

MARKET MUIR, HUNTLY – 25 July – 27 July

THAINSTONE CENTRE, INVERUIRE – 28 July – 30 July 

FIFE ICE ARENA, KIRKCALDY – 1 August  – 3 August

WOODHEAD PARK, KIRKINTILLOCH – 4 August – 6 August

LOW GREEN, AYR – 8 August – 10 August

ENCLIFFE PARK, SHEFFILED – 13 August – 18 August

HOVE LAWNS, BRIGHTON – 21 August – 2 September 

BARHAM PARK, WEMBLEY – 4 September – 9 September

PECKHAM RYE, PECKHAM – 11 September – 16 September

TWICKENHAM GREEN, TWICKENHAM – 18 September – 23 September

HAMPSTEAD HEATH, HAMPSTEAD – 9 October – 14 October 

Dial-a-Seat tel: 0871 210 2100 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras).

Click here to read an interview with Zippos owner Martin Burton.

And for the full story of Zippos and many other circuses from the Chinese State Circus to the Circus of Horrors read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book for Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With The Circus.

Click here to buy Circus Mania from Amazon.

How to run a circus with three decisions in a minute - Zippos circus

Training for Scotland's Commonwealth Youth Circus
But there's more to running a circus than
jumping through hoops.

If you want to run a circus you have to be able to think quickly.

According to Martin Burton of Zippos, his staff can make three decisions in under a minute.

"I have spoken to businessmen who look amazed and say, 'Well, in my company that would take six months to make those three decisions'. Yes, well, learn how to do it. If there's a problem, solve it," says Burton.

"We used to plan ahead. We had planning meetings and planning meetings and planning meetings and then at the last minute, everything would change.

"Then one day I had one of those eureka moments, and I said we are never going to have another planning meeting because we always change at the last minute. So what we are going to do is every senior staff member is going to be taught crisis management."

Burton was speaking to BBC News Scotland for an item about the business side of running a circus that looked Zippos and also the Commonwealth Youth Circus.

Would you like to know more? Click here to read the article online.

And for a really deep look into the running of traditional and contemporary circuses, read Circus Mania, which includes my in depth interviews with showmen such as Martin Burton, Dr Haze (of the Circus of Horrors), Jasper King of the Chippolatas, Brian Austin (Chinese and Moscow State Circuses) and Gerry Cottle; as well as clowns, sword-swallowers, trapeze artists and tiger trainers.

Click here to read the customer reviews on Amazon.

Zippos sold out in Glasgow!

A bit of mud didn't stop the crowds rolling up and selling out the Zippos big top when Britain's favourite circus pitched up in Victoria Park, Glasgow earlier this week. Catch the show on tour in Scotland this summer. Click here for dates.

And read the story of how a progressive clown called Zippo went from Covent Garden street entertainer to running Britain's best known traditional family circus. An interview with Martin 'Zippo' Burton is just one of the many behind-the-scenes tales of circus life in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away With the Circus.

Click here to read seven top-rated reviews on Amazon.

Zippos open day

If you've ever wanted to go behind the scenes at the circus, pop along to Zippos on Blackheath Common on Friday April 18. As part of this month's World Circus Day celebrations, the circus will be holding an open day from 11.00 to 12.00 when visitors can meet the animals, performers and staff and find out how a circus works.

"A very enjoyable book"
- the latest 5-star customer
review on Amazon.
Visit the site to read
another six.

Another way to go behind the scenes of the big top is to buy my book Circus Mania - a backstage journey through the British circus scene from traditional tent shows with tigers and elephants to such freakishly contemporary shows as the Circus of Horrors. Along the way you'll find clowns, trapeze artists, animal trainers and showmen talking about their unique lives, culture, traditions, secrets and superstitions. There's even a full chapter in which Zippos founder Martin Burton tells the story of his circus and the part it played in BBC sitcom Big Top.

Click here to buy Circus Mania from Amazon.

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

How to run a circus - Zippos owner Martin Burton looks back at a "tremendous" year.

It was a pleasure last week to post pictures of full houses and long queues at Zippos this year. With Zippos currently resident at Winter Wonderland in London's Hyde Park, I thought it would be good to catch up with showman Martin Burton. In the following interview he shares his thoughts on the past season, the secrets of his success and his plans for 2014 

Martin 'Zippo' Burton

How would you describe the past year for Zippos?

"2013 has been a tremendous year for Zippos Circus. My Circus team, led by

Beau Denning, has worked fantastically well together and we created a

show that really touched people nationwide, from the south coast of

Britain to the northern shores of Scotland. Our Scottish finale was one of

my favourite moments in the 2013 season."

What was the most memorable moment of 2013?

"Ultimately our performances at the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland must create

my most memorable moments of 2013. I remember going to Paris to see Cirque

Pinder 25 years ago and commenting that I could never imagine that Zippos

could ever play to 9000 people a day, as Pinder was then (and now). At

Hyde Park to Wonderland we get 9000 people in every Saturday and every

show ends with a standing ovation. It's not the business that gives me so

much joy but support for the circus as a genre. Sometimes I hear that

traditional circus is dead but I can tell you it certainly is not!"

Bring in the circus horses
- Nicky de Neumann's
Roman riding was a big hit
with Zippos audiences

 ...and the worst?

"Listening to the vile and horrible lies sometimes chanted by animal rights

supporters outside of my circus, when I know that there is absolutely no

animal cruelty takes place in Zippos Circus - rather the animals enjoy

their life and performances and give great pleasure to their trainers and

my audiences."

To what do you attribute so many full houses?

"A great show of course but much more than that Zippos Circus is a brand

that the public can trust with the highest level of customer service. None

of us at Zippos Circus ever forget that it is our paying customers who

allow us to live the lifestyle we love so much."

You're not using the horses at Winter Wonderland.

Were there any other venues in 2013 where you had to leave out the animals

to secure a site?

"Hyde Park is of course very horse friendly. But with up to 8 shows per

day, very restricted space with no room for exercise paddocks and the huge

crowds that the event attracts I just could not guarantee the highest

standards of animal welfare that I require and expect. We miss the horses

every day!"

Was Nicky de Neuman's Roman riding a big draw, and do you find there's still a

big demand for animal acts?

"I reintroduced horses to Zippos Circus over 20 years ago. I did so because

I realised the circus going public do still want to see at least domestic

animals in a traditional circus. I was proved right because our business

increased by 25% in the moment so I re introduced horses to Zippos Circus.

Nikki de Neuman offered Zippos visitors a very different style of

equestrian presentation, and a distinct change from all the wonderful

Liberty acts presented in previous years by Tom Roberts. Zippos creative

director, David Hibling, decided to present Nicky's work in a series of

short acts throughout the show rather than one big horse number. This

proved a very popular idea with our visitors."

Married to the circus
Zippos' Queen of Clowns Andreea Delbosq
was proposed to in the ring... at every show

How much do you use publicity stunts like the strongman pulling a bus

with his teeth and how effective do you find that sort of thing as a

ticket seller?

"Brand development, publicity stunts and PR are the very lifeblood of any

circus and always have been. In 2012 my clowns chose to get married so I

had him propose to her in the ring during the clown entree every week to

get Zippos local press coverage. This year some costumes were stolen from

the backstage area and at the last minute my Clown told me he had his

clown nose stolen too. This was a true story which made national headlines

in the Scottish press. It's my job to recognise those stores which will

run and run and publicise the circus well."

...the groom, meanwhile, had his nose nicked.

How important is Facebook and Twitter etc to circus promotion today,

and have the main tools for promoting your circus changed much since you

first came into the

business?

"Facebook and Twitter did not exist when I founded Zippos Circus. However

the birth of the Internet was something that Zippos Circus recognised at

the very beginning. We had a website designed before most people knew what

a website was. More importantly Zippos has been harvesting email addresses

and data from its visitors since the very beginning of email and we

regularly announce and promote our tour dates using that email data. More

recently Facebook has become yet another tool to keep Zippos in touch with

its visitors and tell potential customers know our plans and news."

Cirque Berserk
- the dark and fiery side of Zippos

Do you think there is a disparity between the type of new circus shows

that get reviewed in the broadsheets and the type of circus that the wider

public actually 

wants to see?

"No. It's not about traditional Circus versus new Circus. It's about good

Circus versus bad Circus. Circus artists are very willing to try new ideas

as proved by my own experiments with Cirque Berserk, which is about to

undertake a nationwide tour of English theatres in January 2014."

How would you describe the state of the British circus scene generally

as we head into 2014?

"There are more circuses touring Britain now than at any time in the

history of British Circus. Perhaps there are only two or three other truly

significant circuses touring the UK, but there are up to 50 smaller

circuses touring either for a full season or just part of the season and

finding new venues and new places to play. The British Circus industry is

expanding helped by the popularity of circus training and circus schools.

Circus will certainly change in the future, as it always has done in the

past. But I believe it will continue to thrive and I am determined that

Zippos Circus remain part of that scene for many years to come. Its time

of course, to see a great British circus back on mainstream TV regularly."

2nd Edition out now!

Read a full chapter on the birth of Zippos Circus and its involvement in the BBC comedy Big Top, among countless other stories from the circus world in Circus Mania by Douglas McPherson - described by World's Fair as "The greatest show on Earth in a book."

Click here to buy the paperback or ebook from Amazon.

Circus For Sale

Would you like to buy a slightly used circus? Click here for details.

"I looked after 11 polar bears"
- Peter Jolly

Click here to read about Peter Jolly's 50 Years Under Canvas.