Douglas McPherson - Circus Mania: The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away to the Circus

LIFE AND DEATH IN THE SAWDUST CIRCLE

The circus has been with us since Roman times, but it has never been more diverse and captivating, the global success of the spectacular Cirque du Soleil just one testament to its enduring and universal appeal. In Britain alone there are traditional family circuses for kids and arty shows for adults, circuses in tents and circuses in theatres, circuses with animals and circuses without, the Circus of Horrors for clubbers, the comedy-based Circus Hilarious and cabaret-style hybrids on the burlesque circuit and this form of entertainment is popular around the world.

What all circuses have in common are the extraordinary skills, dedication and lifestyle of those involved a unique strain of performers who blend the discipline of sports stars with the razzmatazz of showbiz; itinerant entertainers who have often had circus blood in their families for generations; world-class gymnasts who risk death twice daily, serve on the tea stand in between shows and help take down the big top afterwards. Circus Mania is a journey into this unique world, each chapter an access-all-areas pass to a different circus, talking to the trapeze flyers, clowns, animal trainers and showmen about their lives, work and customs and offering insight into the development of this traditional entertainment from the earliest times.

DOUGLAS MCPHERSON has written extensively about the stage and circus for many years, and Circus Mania, his new book the only one of its kind is an expert guide to the history and culture of the circus.

Welcome to

In memory of Eva

Introduction
Welcome to the circus

Appendix
Circus chronology

Shaka the lion with Great British Circus director Martin Lacey; Jeff Link/Linkmulitmedia/Great British Circus

Clowning around: Clive Webb and Danny Adams; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Circus Hilarious

Clive and Danny with the Hippodrome showgirls; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Circus Hilarious

Clive and Danny get wet; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Circus Hilarious

Helyne Edmonds with tiger cubs born at the Great British Circus; Jeff Link/Linkmulitmedia/Great British Circus

Helyne with the fully grown tiger cubs; Jeff Link/Linkmulitmedia/Great British Circus

Helyne with King, the Friesian stallion; Jeff Link/Linkmulitmedia/Great British Circus

Jasper King tries not to become a burnt Chipolata; Raphael Helle/Norfolk and Norwich Festival

Circas David Carberry; Raphael Hell/Norfolk and Norwich Festival

Circas David Carberry and Darcy Grant; Sandrine Penda/Norfolk and Norwich Festival

Faade of the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome; David Street/Blonde Street Images/ Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

The Great Yarmouth Hippodrome where the ring becomes a pool; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

The Flying Neves take to the air at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

Sword swallower Hannibal Helmurto and the Circus of Horrors; SeventhWaveImagery/Circus of Horrors

Danny Adams re-creates Houdinis escape from a milk-churn; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

The author meets Sonja the elephant; authors collection

The Chinese State Circus: lion dancing, swordplay, contortionism and bikes; SeventhWaveImagery/Chinese State Circus

The cast of the BBCs Big Top; Big Bear Films

Miguel Peris takes his sister Alicia for a spin; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Circus Hilarious

Gerry Cottle and his stars of the future; Gerry Cottle/Wookey Hole

Gerry Cottles future stars training at Wookey Hole; Gerry Cottle/Wookey Hole

Joseph Micheletty, Frances Diabolist Extraordinaire; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

The Bio Brothers from the Ukraine; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Great Yarmouth Hippodrome

Danny Adams auditions for the Chinese State Circus; David Street/Blonde Street Images/Circus Hilarious

Patrons will note that, owing to the HAZARDOUS nature of circus, all acts are subject to CHANGE without notice. Please do not try any of the following stunts yourself. Smoking is NOT allowed in the big top. Please turn OFF your mobile phone. We hope you ENJOY the show.

What is circus? Perhaps the word brings to your mind a big top, an enormous striped tent with grass underfoot and the cry of Roll up, roll up in the air. Maybe you think of a white clown face with a red ping-pong ball for a nose. Or a man on stilts. Or elephants in tiaras and tutus.

Perhaps the word conjures darker images: the sinister clowns of horror films; Victorian lion tamers with oily moustaches and cracking whips; cruelty hidden behind the curtain.

Maybe you hear such names as Barnum, Smart and Cottle. Or perhaps you picture the lavish Las Vegas spectacle of Cirque du Soleil.

When I began my journey into circus I had only distant childhood memories of an entertainment I believed long defunct. To my amazement, I discovered the most thrilling performances and exciting shows that I have encountered in any field of entertainment. I found people performing feats of agility and skill that seemingly made the impossible possible. I saw circuses aimed at nightclub audiences and circuses aimed at the arts crowd. I saw shows at the cutting edge of theatrical production values and others that kept alive the tradition of sawdust, elephants and tigers.

I also found that I was not the only person to have overlooked this world within the circus ring. While theatre, music and literary criticism abound, there was almost no serious writing about circus. The papers might report an animal-rights protest outside the big top or offer a perfunctory review of Cirque du Soleil. But where was the authoritative comparison of one contortionists routine with another? Where was the informed debate on the merits of narrative circus, or the changing character of clowning? Where were the celebrity circus stars, the poster boys and girls of their profession?

I wanted to redress the balance by looking critically at the many varied styles of circus being performed today: the rocknroll razzmatazz of the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome; the gymnastic lion dance of the Chinese State Circus; the breathtaking ice show of Cirque de Glace.

There is a rich history to be told, stretching back to the father of modern circus, Philip Astley, in eighteenth-century London, and beyond, to the arenas of ancient Rome and the variety theatre of China, more than 2,000 years ago. But it was not the history itself that fascinated me so much as the way in which the traditions of those past centuries live on, consciously and unconsciously, in the performers and performances of today.