There’s nothing like the atmosphere of a circus tent filled to capacity with excited kids. In the ring is a high calibre cast of international acrobats and clowns. But the 500-seat Circus Starr big top wasn’t sold-out by the traditional methods of a poster campaign or parade. In each of the towns on its annual 75-date tour, the tickets were bought by local businesses then donated to disadvantaged children and their families.
According to director Neville Wilson, “There are a lot of fundraising events where the event is a long way removed from the kids they help. The idea behind Circus Starr was to let the kids have something tangible; to say, ‘Here’s a couple of tickets, come out and enjoy yourself.’”
It’s not just children but whole families that benefit, Wilson continues.
“Our audience is made up kids facing all sorts of challenges from autism to life-threatening illnesses. We’ve even had children come to the show in beds. There are very few places their parents can take them as a family, because they might be worried that the child will make a lot of noise and be disruptive. But when they come to
Circus Starr that doesn’t matter, because everybody’s in the same boat.”
As to the timeless ability of a traditional circus to help children forget their troubles, Wilson says, “A lot of kids these days grow up sitting in their bedrooms with computer games and there’s not much interaction with other people. Suddenly they come to this strange place where there’s loads of people around them; something funny happening; something serious; music, colour, life. You can see the effect in their faces: it’s like a light switch going on.”
The
philanthropic circus was born 26 years ago, when
Gandey’s Circus was approached to put on a fundraising event for a school.
“We did a gala evening and it was so successful that word got around to other charities that wanted to do the same thing,” says Wilson. “So we set up
Circus Starr to help low profile local charities like
hospices that didn’t have the resources to raise funds for themselves. The original deal was that we would handle the publicity, sell the tickets and split the profits with the charity.”
Initially, Starr used a telesales team to sell tickets to local businesses for their own use. “But over time people started saying, ‘Would you donate these tickets? We’d like them to go to this school...’
"It made me realise how many kids there are out there facing really big challenges,” says Wilson.
Today, all tickets are distributed through a variety of
hospices, community groups and
women’s refuges, researched by Starr from its base in
Congelton, Cheshire. 100% of the show’s profits is then donated to a particular charity, such as the
air ambulance service, that the circus partners with in each town it visits.
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| The Circus Starr big top |
“We donate over
£1 million worth of tickets each year, and every single ticket is used. Then there are a lot of hospices and baby care units that get a nice cheque at the end of the show, too, so everybody wins,” says Wilson.
Circus Starr is a not-for-profit
CIC (Community Interest Company) but it benefits financially and artistically from being part of the
Gandey Organisation, which produces commercial shows such as the
Chinese State Circus and
The Ladyboys of Bangkok.
“
Philip Gandey produces a new show for us each year and spends a lot of time looking for the acts,” says Wilson. “It’s a proper touring circus, moved on
six articulated units, that could be sold commercially, no problem.”
Wilson fell in love with big tops and sawdust at an early age.
“My mum and dad took me to
Boswell Wilkie’s Circus in
South Africa when I was 5-years-old, and I can remember some of that performance to this day,” the director grins.
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The Great Yarmouth Hippodrome
Britain's oldest circus building, where
Neville Wilson ran away with a
Russian Swing act.
(A picture from Circus Mania) |
Many years later, when he was travelling through
Europe as a young man, Wilson found himself with a summer job at Britain’s oldest circus building, the
Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.
“There was an acrobatic troupe called the
Casteinos. One of the catchers in their
Russian swing act decided to leave and they asked me if I’d like to try it. I was pretty agile in those days - so I ran away with the circus!”
Retiring from performance when the
Casteinos broke up, Wilson joined the publicity team of
Boswell Wilkie in South Africa and rose to assistant manager. He moved to England in 1986 and worked with several circuses, including the
Moscow State Circus, before meeting third generation showman
Phillip Gandey, with whom he has worked ever since.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve done with
Circus Starr, over the past ten years especially,” says Wilson. “I live and breathe it and love every second that I’m at work.”
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Every night's a full house at
Circus Starr |
Wilson admits the economic downturn has affected
Circus Starr - but not because people have become more reluctant to give.
“A lot of the businesses we were dealing with ceased trading. That’s made it harder for our telesales team and harder for us to expand. If the recession hadn’t happened we’d probably be visiting another 15 towns by now.
“But the businesses that have remained and the new businesses that have opened have been as generous as ever. Some of the bigger corporations have been phenomenal.”
In fact, even after so many years with
Circus Starr, Wilson says, “The generosity of the British business community never ceases to amaze me. The people who buy tickets don’t get anything out of this except a thank you letter from the kids they sent to the circus. But the letters are phenomenal - and the next year when we phone up, they’ll buy two more tickets!”
So far, none of the kids who have visited
Circus Starr have gone on to become circus stars themselves. But one did grow up to join the
telesales team. Wilson, meanwhile, recalls a meeting he describes as one of the best things that ever happened to him.
“A guy came up to me at a show and said, ‘Many years ago, when I was a kid, my family had a real bust up. My mum and I, and my brother and sister were living in a New Start place. I was so low. We were given tickets to the circus and I’ve never forgotten that. I now have a business in
Carlisle and I always make sure we support you.’
“To me,” says Wilson, “That sums up what
Circus Starr is about.”
And read the story of the Circus Mania launch party here.
