Roll up, roll up! We may be in a black box studio theatre, but let’s imagine for a moment that we are inside un petit chapiteau – a little circus tent. What we encounter in this delightful show is un vrai cirque aux proportions reduites – everything you’d expect to see at the circus, but […]

Thomas Wilson reflects on three very different contemporary circus-theatre shows seen at the London International Mime Festival 2018   London International Mime Festival enters its 41st year, and as usual proves to be the single best place to get a glimpse of the diversity of visual and physical performance currently around. This year is no […]

Lähtö  is a cool show. Its colour palette is soft greys and ice blues. Its two performers, a man and a woman, are forever poised in beautiful shapes – held back, restrained, even when in the throes of passion. They take their time, they repeat, they are not afraid to stop, to create the image […]

Dorothy Max Prior goes on the road in Mexico with Caravanas Ficho, an enterprising outreach and community engagement programme created by Ficho Festival, taking circus and street arts to otherwise excluded people in Guadalajara and other parts of Jalisco state    So here we are, a motley crew gathering in Caligari, a shabby-chic cafe in […]

Brazilian clown and film director Mariana Gabriel’s heartwarming and inspiring documentary, Mi Abuela era Payaso (created with Ana Minheira), contains much food for thought – not least, the statement from a key interviewee that much of the documented history of circus is White, male and European. So to redress the balance a little, enter Mariana […]