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Performers: Tweedy, Maxi, Mikey Fletcher, Nell O’Hara, Dany and Sito Rivelino, Mentesnot Dereje Hunde, Yosef Gashaw Teshome, Tsegaye Mulatu Yeko, Dawit Bezabh Belete, Mikiyasabeje Chanie, Ermiyas Dejene Mekonen, Daniela Munoz Landestoy, Noemi Novakovics, Randy Forgione Vega, Emma Tytherleigh, John Pablo and Vickki Garcia, Antonio and Connor Garcia, Joe Pickering, David Meredith, Sofia Kherroubi, Nicholas Hann, Rob Taylor, James Thomas, Morgan Pugh, Edwin Forster, George McAllister, Darryl Hughes, Rafiq Ffinch-Shah
Running time: Two hours, including interval
Touring until September 28
Imagine a time when childhoods were free from mobile phones, video games and Instagram, and when the arrival of an exotic circus troupe on a village green or at the seaside represented magic and excitement far beyond the everyday.
Giffords Circus was set up to recreate that sense of thrill, while replacing any cruelty and inhumanity with kindness and inclusivity. Enjoyment is shared and we laugh with, not at a cast of international performers remarkable for their flexibility, strength, creativity, love of fun and hand-eye coordination.
To celebrate 25 years of Giffords’ artful balancing act, director Cal McCrystal transports us to the imaginary Laguna Bay in a 1950s America we fondly imagine as a place “shimmering with promise” and of “endless bliss”. It is a beautifully realised, expertly judged escape from contemporary reality.
It all kicks off with Tweedy, the clown, back at Giffords after a year’s break, who tangles himself in deckchairs and step ladders and slides around in gloop.
It is very silly, at times risqué, and especially delights the younger members of the audience, judging by their noisy reaction. It is also tense as Tweedy’s physical comedy teeters on the brink of the dangerous.
For much of the rest of the show, our hearts are in our mouths. The Ethio-Salem Troupe’s acrobats play with fire, while Daniela and Noemi specialise in hanging by their hair and Antonio and Connor Garcia support themselves on one hand.
The Garcia brothers are the ninth generation of a dynasty of circus performers.
Their parents John Pablo and Vickki Garcia are central to the Laguna Bay show with their highly imaginative sensation in the sky: an act that builds from messing about in a plane to physical daring.
Lest it should be too much for our nerves, Emma Tythersleigh soothes us and melts our hearts with her gentle animal antics.
Adding a layer of glamour and pizzazz, Giffords is the only English circus that sets all its shows to live music.
At the end, singer Nell O’Hara invites the audience down to join the performers in the ring that doubles as an impromptu dance floor. I would have been tempted but for the risk of being seriously outclassed.
Giffords Circus,
Laguna Bay,
Director: Cal McCrystal
Performers: Tweedy, Maxi, Mikey Fletcher, Nell O’Hara, Dany and Sito Rivelino, Mentesnot Dereje Hunde, Yosef Gashaw Teshome, Tsegaye Mulatu Yeko, Dawit Bezabh Belete, Mikiyasabeje Chanie, Ermiyas Dejene Mekonen, Daniela Munoz Landestoy, Noemi Novakovics, Randy Forgione Vega, Emma Tytherleigh, John Pablo and Vickki Garcia, Antonio and Connor Garcia, Joe Pickering, David Meredith, Sofia Kherroubi, Nicholas Hann, Rob Taylor, James Thomas, Morgan Pugh, Edwin Forster, George McAllister, Darryl Hughes, Rafiq Ffinch-Shah
Running time: Two hours, including interval
Touring until September 28
Imagine a time when childhoods were free from mobile phones, video games and Instagram, and when the arrival of an exotic circus troupe on a village green or at the seaside represented magic and excitement far beyond the everyday.
Giffords Circus was set up to recreate that sense of thrill, while replacing any cruelty and inhumanity with kindness and inclusivity. Enjoyment is shared and we laugh with, not at a cast of international performers remarkable for their flexibility, strength, creativity, love of fun and hand-eye coordination.
To celebrate 25 years of Giffords’ artful balancing act, director Cal McCrystal transports us to the imaginary Laguna Bay in a 1950s America we fondly imagine as a place “shimmering with promise” and of “endless bliss”. It is a beautifully realised, expertly judged escape from contemporary reality.
It all kicks off with Tweedy, the clown, back at Giffords after a year’s break, who tangles himself in deckchairs and step ladders and slides around in gloop.
It is very silly, at times risqué, and especially delights the younger members of the audience, judging by their noisy reaction. It is also tense as Tweedy’s physical comedy teeters on the brink of the dangerous.
For much of the rest of the show, our hearts are in our mouths. The Ethio-Salem Troupe’s acrobats play with fire, while Daniela and Noemi specialise in hanging by their hair and Antonio and Connor Garcia support themselves on one hand.
The Garcia brothers are the ninth generation of a dynasty of circus performers.
Their parents John Pablo and Vickki Garcia are central to the Laguna Bay show with their highly imaginative sensation in the sky: an act that builds from messing about in a plane to physical daring.
Lest it should be too much for our nerves, Emma Tythersleigh soothes us and melts our hearts with her gentle animal antics.
Adding a layer of glamour and pizzazz, Giffords is the only English circus that sets all its shows to live music.
At the end, singer Nell O’Hara invites the audience down to join the performers in the ring that doubles as an impromptu dance floor. I would have been tempted but for the risk of being seriously outclassed.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
By Barbara Lewis • performance, year 2025 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, performance