In the centre pages of this issue you'll find a new four-page pull-out supplement, Circus News, published by Total Theatre on behalf of the newly created Circus Arts Forum. As reported last issue, the Circus Arts Forum is a new national network for the circus sector. Whilst Circus News retains its own identity separate from the magazine, Total Theatre will continue to report on all aspects of the physical and visual performance sector (including circus). Just regard Circus News as an add-on benefit to your Total Theatre membership, and let us know what you think of it.
For this launch issue, Circus News has aimed its sights high with a feature by Stewart McGill on the world's largest and most successful circus company, Cirque du Soleil. Budding circus artists will find news of forthcoming Cirque du Soleil auditions. There's also an article by Anne-Louise Rentell on Warwick's new purpose-built centre for young people interested in circus arts, the Dream Factory.
Continuing the theme of international work, this issue features round-ups of the visual and physical performance scenes of two diverse nations – South Africa and New Zealand. In addition, Rebecca Brown reports on a major collaborative project happening in Coventry this summer, between Polish company Teatr Biuro Podróży and the Belgrade Theatre. With speculation rife that London's doomed millennium project in Greenwich may close before the year's out, Coventry looks set to have a hit on their hands with Millennium Mysteries, a huge outdoor production happening in its cathedral ruins.
Elsewhere in this issue Total Theatre celebrates the work of two performers at the vanguard of the live art scene. Dorothy Max Prior catches up with Marisa Carnesky, and I chew the fat with David Hoyle, who gives Total Theatre the lowdown on why – on the verge of mainstream success – he's decided to kill off the hugely in-demand Divine David. Rounding things up, Tray McConnell looks at the work of the Huddersfield company Full Body and the Voice, which is comprised of performers with learning disabilities.
Watch out for the Total Theatre Awards for the third year running at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer, and remember to keep us informed of what you're up to.
