Daredevils & Divas: A Night At The Circus, BBC Four
“You’re never too old, you’re never too young, you’re never too cool to go to a circus,” said red-coated ringmaster Norman Barrett halfway through Daredevils & Divas, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the first British circus and a compilation of the best and most cutting-edge circus acts working today. And judging by the regular camera pans across the audiences, Barrett wasn’t far wrong. Mums, dads, kids, grannies, aunts, uncles and hipsters, they were all there and most of them looked suitably dumbstruck by what they were seeing.
Interestingly that same mixed demographic was present among the circus performers too. Some were married to other performers and used their own children in their acts. Others, such as Brazilian aerial performer Alex Michael, came from families steeped in circus traditions. He was a sixth-generation performer who does the same traditional routine for Zippo’s Circus as his father did. Others – the circus version of Muggles, if you like – came from very ordinary backgrounds. We met them at the achingly-hip National Centre for Circus Arts in London’s achingly-hip Hoxton district.
Some performers featured took their acquired skills and collaborated with other artists, in this case contemporary dancers, to create mind-blowing fusions of theatre, movement and juggling. Or they took an interest in other subjects and applied them to circus performing. One such was Aberdeen-born Alan Digweed, who was heading for art college to study animation until he realised he could turn himself the cartoon instead. And so was born Tweedy the Clown, now a fixture of Gifford’s Circus and a sort of latter day Buster Keaton as viewed through the prism of punk rock.
The set-piece which closed the show came from Chris Bullzini, a funambulist with a flair for the theatrical. And if you don’t know what a funambulist is, here’s a clue: Bullzini was filmed undertaking the first crossing of the River Wear by tightrope. At dusk. With an audience of thousands, many of whom had turned up with deckchairs.
Between the acts themselves, filmed at circuses from Cardiff to Aberdeenshire, we were entertained by puckish Doug Francisco of cult circus troupe The Invisible Circus in segments filmed in the plush surrounds of the historic Hippodrome Circus ring in Great Yarmouth. A fantastic creation in his own right, at one point he lay clutching a copy of Angela Carter’s magic realist fable Nights At The Circus. He and it added a wonderful touch of showmanship to a spectacle already rich in wonders.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here