Circus Music

            Circus Music

 Music is emotional ,it has the power to inspire , to make you laugh , to make you cry, it leads armies into battle , accompanies the dead on their last journey , according to Congreve “music hath charms to soothe the savage breast , to soften rocks or bend a knotted oak” Powerful stuff indeed and thats before you add lyrics.   Good writing can,  and has ,changed the world so when a composer and a lyricist get together their boundaries are endless  , Musicals , Operas  , Country and Western  , Rock ,Pop, Grunge , Grind , Garage , Punk, a million  possibilities  and with modern technology as many ways to listen .Music is with us 24/7 Every high street , Every store, Every shopping centre , on trains, on buses ,in Taxis, even in a lift  we are bombarded with a constant wall of sound .   

                   And then there is CIRCUS !

  My earliest experience of music for Circus was  around the mid '50's on a circus belonging to some relation of ours , because the previous 'Musician', and I use the term very loosely , had left I ended up sitting on a stool behind a snare drum and Cymbal next to  a panatrope , the original name for a record player  , The 78rpm  discs were in order and before  each act  I would pick the next one from the pile put it  on the player start it and accompany it with the snare drum , even though during my career I managed to master many Instruments, Drums were not among them , luckily the music was either a basic3 /4  waltz or a 4/4 swing . The least problem was getting the discs mixed up , the acts were unfazed by the music, they just performed took their bow and went off ,  This was , of course , a small family Circus with the  sole ambition  to survive , the bigger shows had proper bands dressed in military style uniforms , a throwback to earlier times when that style of music was the only choice.

Jumping forward to the '70's After a decade of performing my own musical comedy act in theatres I went back to my Circus roots and slowly I started producing individual acts and a little later full shows ,I knew that in the modern era Music and lighting had taken on a whole new role in Circus  , it could enhance or diminish a performer  and a wrong choice could affect the atmosphere of the show itself .  My first one  was for two sisters and their Corde' Lise act , two ropes hanging from the roof of the  big top on which they performed a display of acrobatic and aerial skills , we choreographed it to  version of  Gershwin's ' Rhapsody in Blue edited to 6 minutes with the girls routines being perfectly synchronised to each other and the music which could be played live or from a cassette tape which many shows had started using  , The entrance , the act and the exit  were performed In one fluid movement , no pauses for applause in between tricks or moves until they reached the curtains at the end ,whereupon they turned ,looked at the audience and just slightly bowed their heads , because we had not let the audience show their appreciation for individual tricks   the reaction was tremendous. 

I then put a more acts together with some success , I was usually given the job of putting the show together on whatever show I was in  at the time ,this would be a basic running order with an opening and a finale normally done to some march or other but I had very little control over the music or general production .

The first time I put a complete show together from start to finish was Circus Harlequin in the early '90's ,I then realised that doing an individual act was rewarding  but now I wanted the music to do something different, it had to convey  a theme and a mood  , each act and the comedy had to link together to present a complete package to the audience , We still had live music but there was also more technology , mini discs !!! my scope was bigger and together  with the Owner Martin Lacey, the chief Airealist Larry de Wit and our 'Band ' organist Dave and drummer Phil we  produced a ground breaking show , I will highlight two acts .

Sue Lacey  , Martins wife was small , Blonde and an excellent wild animal trainer , she presented a group of tigers and  the lights and the music were used to enhance an already  excellent performance , Blue lights and Ravels 'Bolero ' played with a combination of live and recorded music so that it sounded like a full orchestra produced an act of such quality and class that I am still reminded of it many years later by those who saw it .

The second example was the aerial cradle act of Larry De Wit and his partner Georgia , I had the idea of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet  so we started with a voiceover of “ But soft, what light through yonder window breaks , 'tis the east and juliet is the sun”  during which the spotlight picked up georgia ( Juliet) on the cradle frame in the roof of the big top , her  long white dress in the shape of a tube ( the light from yonder window ) flowed to the ground masking a rope ladder which Larry ( Romeo) climbed , I was then presented with a dilemma , there were three music options   Prokofiev , Tchaikovsky and Bernstein's  'West Side Story '( the last  however would have meant significant changes in presentation`)
 In the end I chose Prokofiev as it seemed the perfect combination of the other two with both old and modern themes .
There is another version by Berlioz but it didn't fit the criteria I needed .

I went on to produce  other shows in the UK ,and in 2001 I produced a new German Circus show called  “Manege “ .

   Over the last twenty years  I am noticing different trends In Circus music , with the majority of shows having no live music and relying only on  digital music players both they and the performer are presented with some problems , for instance if a juggler drops a club or a ball , a flying trapeze artist misses a trick and has to climb back up to retry this changes the timing , a live band can and usually  did adapt to the change , nowadays even with the wonderful editing options on your PC media app  a digital player can't do that so other solutions have to be found , this sometimes  means compromising  between  the choice of music in the knowledge  that  the performance has to be perfect every time  which is extremely difficult to accomplish , or you pick music that is not your first choice  but lets you have a little room to manoeuvre  if something goes wrong .
 Some artists coming from Circus Schools  leave with a finished act , Lighting cues , music, props etc all done and dusted which is fine until they get to a show where someone else has the same music .
 Other  problems can arise when you make your music  choice too personal , you pick a song because you like it without thinking of what is best for your act and the reaction of the audience . 

Picking a currently popular song is also a danger as songs go out of fashion as quickly as they come in .
When 'Love is in the air ' came out in '77 nearly every horse act in european circus  used it , the Superman theme was taken by  a myriad of male aerial acts and Star Wars was used by everyone  from jugglers to clowns  .
I have used various tunes in my capacity as a Musical Clown but always finished with a  March this was and still is a bit traditional even though there are very few Musical Clown acts around any more  .

 There has never been a great deal of Music written especially for circus , Originally military music was used hence the Band Uniforms , in the 20's 30'and 40's  the lack of widespread  access to  music, relying on  radio and phonographs , limited the options for performers . Nowadays Cirque du Soleil use all original music for their shows but the lyrics are in a language of their own composing and are special to each particular performance or show , I can only think of a couple of Soleil tunes that have made it into wider Circus use.
'Salto Mortale ' is a well known circus march used  for openings or finales and the Monte Carlo Circus Festival has it's own theme tune , some artists through the years  have had  their music specially written but again it's a small number .

Finally What I have noticed throughout my time is that audiences are somehow empathic to the music used in a performance, they instinctively know if it's right or wrong , If, after a show you asked them why, they couldn't tell you, but they know and if the audience is happy you've done your job and  thats all that matters. 

    

COMEDY DOESN'T HAVE A LANGUAGE BUT IT HAS A VOICE 

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Part 1   Introduction ==

This blog is not about the history of comedy as there are more than enough books and essays on that subject, This is an attempt to describe some aspects of Comedy that have got a bit lost in the confusion of the modern world.

Every Clown, Comic and Comedian is asked at some point  " what is  the secret of comedy " My flippant answer has often been

  

"The rabbit's a ventriloquist "  

 I have performed  some form of comedy all of my professional life in nearly every entertainment  medium with the appropriate  amount of success and failure to give me an insight into the subject and I am certain of one thing,

There is no secret ! 

Thats it, we can all get on with our lives now 

If only it was that simple. 

More articles have  been written about Comedy than any other topic but still there are no solid conclusions, Everyone thinks they know but no-one does,

 There are lots of little epithets such as -

' Comedians say funny things, Comics say things funny '

' Clowns are societies conscience ' 

'Comedy hold a mirror up to the world '

 'Satire keeps politicians honest '

'Comedy is the safety valve on the pressure cooker of life '.

   

Comedy is subjective, every portrayer of  a  comic situation whether written spoken or acted  has their own unique way of  delivering it or how they direct another person to deliver it, think of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen,  both presenting comedy films with strong social commentary but in totally different ways all of which  are valid because there are as many ways to present comedy as there are people who will react to it. 

Comedy is an art form as valid as any other but has more opportunity for expression.

  

Once a book is written or the last brushstroke of a painting is made they are a permanent statement , comedy has no such restrictions  except the good taste and moral boundaries of the performer.   Stand-up comedy content can be the  personal therapy session  of  Billy Connolly, the hard hitting political satire of Bill Maher, the edgy shock wave of Frankie Boyle or Bill Hicks, the gentle innocence of Laurel and Hardy, the analytical perfection of Chaplin or the joy from poking fun at reality in the world of Peter Kay, these are just some  examples of the boundless diversity that comedy brings .

The world of Clowning is another part of the Comedy universe

To put the  record straight the Clown was  originally the character in the ensemble who had the White Face and the brightly coloured  spangled costume  which was meant to  portray an asexual character who was clean, tidy, perfect in every way and a representation of authority against which the Auguste constantly battled . 

 The 'Auguste' was  the comic symbol with the brightly made up face , bulbous red nose (1) , big boots , ill matched and badly fitting  trousers, jacket  hat etc , his (2) world is as jumbled and illogical as his dress but to him it makes perfect sense , all the items do what they are supposed to do , the clothes cover him and keep him warm , the boots protect his feet, the hat keeps him dry what else is there ?

The comedy comes  from the conflict between the Clown and the Auguste,  the logic of the one and his exasperation at the illogicallity of the other , the Auguste will always win because, to him ,  his world is completely logical and needs no further  explanation so he doesn't understand why the clown is making such a fuss.

There was another  character , he came to be known as the 'Joey' , in America he's the 'Third Banana' , he is the foil to the Auguste as the Auguste is to the Clown  , The nearest equivalent in modern comedy is the 'Class System Sketch' from 'The Frost Report ' 

which is a perfect verbal description of the Classic Clown trio .

https://youtu.be/9tXBC-71aZs

I have performed as all three at some point in my career, in my youth I was the 'joey' to my fathers 'Auguste ' later after a short career as a 'Stand-up '  I became a White Faced Clown with a clown troupe in Europe and finally became an 'Auguste with my own troupe .   

Over the last century all of these characters have merged and the distinctions have been less defined until now they are all  referred to by the public and media as Clown. 

Clowns have even more scope to express themselves as they can bring a world of physical comedy to enhance any situation,   The pages of their book or the canvas for their paint is the audience, each show  is a new page, a new colour , the chance to edit or fine tune what you did yesterday and the beauty is you can do it in every show.

  

(1)The grotesque and over the top  make-up came about later and for other reasons, in an age of shows performed in large theatres, tents or even outdoors where the lighting was of a basic quality the large make-up enabled  the audience to  see the auguste's every expression from a distance thereby enhancing his comic attributes, nowadays the majority of venues are so well equipped with  modern sound and lighting technology that a big make up can actually be a disadvantage . 

(2) In the segment referring to Clowns  and Clowning I use the masculine to describe the 'Auguste '  I mean no disrespect to female Augustes  of whom there are many , there are also many female Clowns  but the majority are male and it's more convenient to use the masculine rather than constantly use  he/she or him/her.

TO BE CONTINUED

I use ' clown' to describe all who perform comedy , stand-up, mime, musical, physical, it doesn't matter which, our common aim is to make the audience laugh, we just approach it from different directions, a perfect example of 'The end justifying the means '

Body language and Choreography /Positioning are two  important aspects of comedy, It doesn't matter what or where the venue is,      

when you walk out to your audience the first 5 seconds dictates how they will respond to you, for other artists it's mainly the performance that defines them but for the clown its personal.

A bad entrance can hurt any artist, however a juggler, flyer , hand balancer etc: can recover with a quality performance, mainly because their art and skill is perceived differently from that of a clown. 

A clown appeals to an audience on an individual level, laughter is so personal and so revealing that the relationship between the clown and the public has to be based on a form of trust, they have to enter the clowns world of madness , illogicality and silliness with an open mind and if you are genuine they will relax and take you into their heart .

The original idea and  meaning of  'Reprise ' was a clown  or comic character parodying the act or artist that had just performed, which meant that they had to have the same skills as other artists but not neccessarily at the same level,  they had to be able to walk a tightrope, juggle, do acrobatics and other things so as to enable the comical parody, or 'reprise'  to be believable.  

Today there are only a few clowns who can do this and reprises have become just comic interludes and in many shows have very little to do with the make up of the programme . 

An advantage of doing  reprises /run-ins as a solo clown is you have the opportunity to build up a relationship with your audience over the length of the show, the first impression is still paramount , that and your first comedy piece will define you for the rest of the performance, 

Ring Position is vital, when you're performing  comedy there's a natural instinct to want to be close to your audience , Max Miller ( An English  variety comedian in the mid 20th century )was an absolute master of the art, he would come on stage plant one foot on the footlights lean forward and engage his audience as though they were in a small room chatting about life in general.

In a Circus that's difficult because the ring is usually 10/12 metres across and every metre you are  forward of the centre of the ring means you lose about 20% of the audience who will then spend their time looking at your backside  !!!!!! ( not a good look) Ideally halfway between the ring entrance and the centre is good,  that gives you a fisheye lens view of the public and you only have to turn your body slightly to engage one side of the audience  without turning your back on the other side.

It's aso good to make eye contact with as many people as possible not just in the front couple of rows, lift your head and involve the grandstand as well,  you have to make sure that you interact with as much of the audience as possible, if at some point in the show you're doing a routine that involves taking people out as volounteers it helps a lot.

 I'm not a fan of too much audience participation, I prefer to let them do it from their seats, they paid for them after all, for a while I did a couple of routines involving volounteers one of which was   ' The Band ' I first did it onstage with the Sooty Show in the 60's using kids and ending with the Beatles song "Twist and Shout"as the finale, I  resurrected it in the 90's for Circus but then I used adults and  finished with Elvis's 'Jailhouse Rock',   clowns still  do versions of it, some dressing the volounteers in wigs and giving them plastic instruments which in my opinion spoils the original idea, ideally in these sorts of gags you want the public laughing with you, not at you 

  

These are small but important aspects of performance especially for a clown , most artists are selling a visible skill but a clown has to sell himself . 

                              Cautionary Tales

With the advent of non-animal circuses many of todays clowns don't know the joys of trying to cover the build-up or pull down of a cage , Imagine the scene , the Lions/Tigers or whatever have finished and here comes the clown, the first thing you see is the clown  trying to push his way through 7 or 8 or more ringboys and other staff who are dismantling between 20/25  metal sections of the cage held together with metal fixtures and bolts and chains  plus all the metal props, to enable the cage to be stored behind the ring entrance the curtains are wide open revealing the back of the tent  which is usually flapping around adding to the noise and movement in the ring all of which is a huge distraction and adds to the chaos through which the clown is attempting to entertain the audience who hardly know he's there,  there was a time when we all had to go through it like  basic training , there's nothing like it now .

                            

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I was at the premiere of a  show many years ago when a clown came out to a well known piece of music which he used as his theme, he did his first reprise between the ringside boxes and the grandstand so that the people in the front rows had to turn if they wanted to see what he was doing, he had a large comb and scissors to mime cutting someones hair, he picked a man in the boxes who couldn't see him and did about 20/30 seconds of the mime and off he went having got no laughs .

The next act came and went then  back came the clown to the same theme music, again in between the ringboxes and grandstand  and he picked on the same man, brushed his hair with an oversized hairbrush and off he went, again no laughs .

After the next act the clowns theme music played and there was a low murmer from the audience, out came the clown  this time with a large clothesbrush once again he picked the same man,  still no laughs just an embarressed silence .

The next time the clowns music was played there was an audible reaction from the audience " Oh bloody hell not him again " was heard from a few people but he carried on regardless, this time with a large duster, he dusted the king poles and some of the seats and then went back to the same unfortunate man in the ringside boxes and dusted his head at which point there were sounds and reactions from the audience that were not good, He didn't appear for the second half !

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There was an old saying in the theatre world "I need a prescription from Dr Adrenilin" It's amazing how even when you feel like **** an audience can lift you and carry you through a performance 

In my career on stage or in the ring I only ever missed one show , a stat I'm both proud and ashamed of, It was unavoidable but that doesn't help . 

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I can't count the  number of shows I've done but I can count  the number where I didn't enjoy myself and that would be none! 

Like all performers there have been bad days and when I was younger I used all the excuses, bad audience, too hot, too cold,

not everyone like clowns, and my favourite, they were a singers audience!  

As I got older I realised that the sayings were true but that didn't matter because I had done the best I could and I always found something to make me smile, I'd do a gag a new way or I'd think of something new to do in the middle of a reprise, I was always flexible in whatever routine I did, working with partners it could drive them crazy but more of that next time.

          finally my favourite quote 

    Ken Dodds analysis of laughter 

"A laugh is a noise that comes out of a hole in your face, anywhere else and you're in trouble "

the rise of Corporate Circus .

The Rise of Corporate Circus.

(Bigger is not always better)

As with any development from an established norm a look back into it's history to see the changes that have been wrought, usually in slow increments, until the original has been lost to memory will surprise and sometimes shock.

Circus is a prime example .

1778 saw the arrival of Astley, Hughes, Ducrow et al and heralded the introduction of the Circus Owner /Entrepreneur/ Director taking over and employing the independent family units that had until then toured the countries of Europe presenting their travelling entertainment. 

Circus then developed into a crash, bang affair presenting shows with storylines , scripts and non-stop action , death defying stunts ,trapeze artists with gymnastic feats in mid-air , jugglers manipulating clubs , rings, balls, hoops in a gyration of speed and dexterity, animal trainers first showing off waltzing horses, pirouetting dogs ,and later on leaping lions , tigers and much more , performers practised every day to be better ,the better you were the more you earned , well that was the theory of the 'new age' of circus .

This way of Circus continued, with it's ups and down, triumphs and tragedies, surviving wars, civil ,international and revolutionary , of which there were nearly 200 between 1778 and 1950 ( learning to juggle whilst dodging shells and cannonfire must have been quite an art ) until after WW11 when a new phenomenon appeared, television , for nearly two centuries despite music halls , dance halls, cinema , variety theatres , and many other forms of pleasant diversions circus had remained a major source of 'go-to ' entertainment , the rise of television changed all that at a speed that took everyone by surprise and with tv you didn't have to 'go-to' anywhere except your living room.
From it's hesitant start in 1936 and with an interruption for WW11, in the 1950's TV was king and the sales of sets soared , in 1950 only 350,000 households had a tv set, by 1960 that had risen to ¾ of the population of around 20 million, 526,000 were sold just to watch the coronation in 1953. 

The affect on the entertainment industry was dramatic to say the least and everyone tried to adapt to the new situation, Variety theatres had 'Pop' stars to attract a younger audience , pantomimes starred TV personalities , social clubs and night clubs sprang up all over the country with singers, comedians and the like with 'Direct from TV' on their posters , 

Circus did ==== nothing, or at least nearly nothing, the big 3 in the UK had closed or were near closing and by the end of the decade the ones that were left offered the same old recipe as before, jugglers, clowns , acrobats and animals , not until the mid =70's did a sea change sweep over circus both in the UK and Europe.
In the UK in the early '70's Gerry Cottle, a stockbrokers son, ran away to join the circus and within a decade had one of the biggest shows in the country, bringing new energy and fresh ideas such as hosting the Circus World Championships and the TV series 'Seaside Special' , In Germany a similar change was brought about by Circus Roncalli which, under the direction of former graphic designer Bernhard Paul , brought about a mini revolution in European circus , His ethos was 'as soon as you buy your ticket it's our job to entertain you ' 

Many shows tried to imitate these new ideas but with limited success , the majority however carried on as normal with audience numbers going down and expenses going up eventually the quality of the shows suffered .

Over the last 30 years the animal question has haunted Circus both here and throughout the world and although I have dealt with this subject in other publications one aspect has not really been considered , 

Since the early '70's protests against performing animals in Circus had grown steadily, led by PETA and many national organisations they had huge financial support and seemingly a disregard for how they gathered and distorted evidence to back up their allegations, despite the fact that successful prosecutions against circus trainers for cruelty in over 150 years were in single figures and circus had made many changes to accommodate the concerns of the protesters it was never enough.
many circus owners who had always featured animals in their shows 

suddenly had a Damascene conversion which in retrospect probably had nothing to do with the morals or ethics of travelling with or employing performing animals , it was pure business,
One of the first and most vocal was Gerry Cottle who in the early '90's announced to the press that he would never again have animals in his circus and all circus owners with animals were , in his words, 'dinosaurs'.
Whether or not his motive was pure is speculation but for many others this was an opportunity and the bandwagon quickly filled up.

An explanation for this turn of events can be explained by a little monetary maths. 

In conversation with a couple of independent wild animal trainers I learnt that in the '90's the initial cost of the animals,( 8 Lions was the benchmark) transport , cages ,one for in the ring , another bigger one as an outdoor exercise area would have been about £ 40,000 .

The expenses for food, staff, vets bills etc could be around around £300-500 weekly, A Circus that owned it's own animals, elephants, horses, exotics etc would have to add the costs of the stable staff ,food, hay/ straw for bedding, transport , trainers or animal presenters , this would make the weekly expenses very high even when the show was in it's winter quarters .

For a lot less financial outlay the circus could engage two or three acts to replace the animals and save money, plus they could explain their decision as being progressive , modern and giving the public what they want, so it was a win-win situation, In reality getting rid of the animals was nothing to do with morals or ethics , It was just a matter of economics .

One result is that wild animals in round metal cages have been replaced with motorbike riders in round metal cages .! 

MUSIC

In earlier times nearly every show had a band , from a large orchestra down to an organ and drums and every combination in between , live music was an invaluable aid , If the artist made a mistake in his routine which meant added time it didn't matter ,the band played on until the next cue . This too went by the wayside for economic reasons , A wage standard set by the Musicians Union and Equity affected all entertainment venues, Theatre shows cut back on chorus dancers , 'pit orchestras ' got smaller, circus converted to cassettes then minidiscs followed by cd's and now most shows have a digital sound system.
Modern digital music with the range of editing programmes  available is so precise it leaves no room for error and there's no bandleader to help in a tricky situation , an example of this is a few years ago in the Budapest Festival a lady low-wire walker with a beautiful act full of wonderful tricks and choreography synchronised with the music, unfortunately fell off in the middle of a particular trick , she immediately got back on but those few seconds that she lost meant that the climax of her routine was performed in an embarrassing silence ,  she got huge applause but it wasn't the same . 

The Internet

From it's early days the circus arts have been successful through innovation, with everyone practising to achieve a level which would earn them a living, practise would continue so as keep up the standard and new tricks and routines would spring from this constant practise , with little opportunity to see other artists performing in the same discipline every act was in some way individual and unique . This also changed as a result of TV , variety shows featuring circus acts plus specialist shows like the previously mentioned Seaside Special and the Xmas and Easter circuses , 

were the staple diet of the schedule for many years and the advent of video recorders meant that those acts could be copied , the rise of the internet made that process even easier , now at the press of a key one can see acts and performers from all over the world on your PC screen.

The other element of traditional circus that has undergone a big change are the Clowns , in earlier days they were older artists who had performed speciality acts and as they got older they changed to clowning and used their knowledge and experience in the show, For instance the original 'reprise clowns ,( called in America 'carpet -clowns') did what the title suggests and came in after a juggler or a wire-walker or other acts and 'reprised' their performance in a comic way , if there was more than one clown in a show they would usually perform one routine together, there were many famous clown gags such as 'the Bees and Honey , Old Joes Ghost , the Dead and Alive, the Sleepwalker , which are still performed today , with the advent of PC clowns have a hard time getting laughs without someone being offended , usually on behalf of someone else , The fear of clowns seems to be more prevalent of late although most people who profess to suffer from it can't tell you it's medical name which leads to the belief that it's more fashion than fear ,(BTW It's colorophobia )

In many modern shows clowns have been replaced by characters doing something with the public or performing comic interludes which have no reference to anything in the show and are somewhat akin to the Potters Wheel of the early TV days , 

The success of Cirque Du Soliel has also had it's effect , their opera/circus with it's style of costumes , make-up , specially written music and lyrics, which could be Klingon or Esperanto for all of the meaning they project, have brought a new audience to the art form but in many peoples opinion it isn't circus .
Their show companies are mainly comprised of ex gymnast and athletes many from eastern European countries, who are interchangeable with the casts from other shows. Their disregard for the individual artist is shown by the fact that none of them are acknowledged, the printed programme and the end of the dvd's has the name of all the technicians , riggers , electricians, costume and make-up department members, directors, producers but not one actual performer is named , what a change from the traditional Circus where the posters and programme loudly and proudly proclaimed who you would see if you bought a ticket . 

All of the above has resulted in large proportion of today's shows, travelling and static, both in the UK and Europe delivering a brand of antiseptic, bland ,easy on the eye and even easier on the brain , corporate type performance . 

Of course there are still circuses in the UK and around the world who present their audience with an experience that is uplifting and joyous, some still wrap the show round a story much as in the old days ,one exponent of this is Giffords Circus in the UK which each season presents a brand new story with live music, brilliant comedy and some surprises along the way , they work together as a group with everything from the manual labour through to the grand finale of the show which has become a feature of their yearly performance , 

Every country has their own version of Giffords, small travelling groups who work for the love of what they do and the joy of performing and as long as they are around have no doubt,  Circus will survive .

Circus, a different view

Alternative view of Circus 250. David Konyot

With a little trepidation I put down these thoughts ,thoughts that I have had for some time about Circus in general , where it's going and why , many will not agree , it will not be an easy read but the opinions are mine and mine alone so with that disclaimer here goes .

PROLOGUE 

I come , as many others in Circus, from families that have plied the trade for many centuries , from my mother I am descended from the Blumenfeld Family in Germany whose ancestry can be traced back to the mid 17^thcentury where an Emmanuel Louis Blumenfeld 'Gaukler und Seiltanzer' 

( travelling entertainer and ropewalker ) was reported in the local Wuppertal paper to have brought 3 elephants to the town, this story was told to me by a German Circus fan Peter Brauning in 1982 while I was working for Circus Barum and I was shown a photocopy of the original article.
On my fathers side in am descended from two UK circus dynasties my Great Grandfather being Harry Fossett and my Great Grandmother Harriet Yelding .
Because of my family situation I didn't learn too much about the history of either side when I was growing up but this meeting with Herr Brauning piqued my interest and ever since I have tried to research as much as I can about my ancestors and their continuing involvement with Circus which along with over 60 years experience of practical experience has led me to this overview of Circus which I present to you now .

1. Travelling families;
   
   From Auntie Margaret Yelding (nee Fossett) and in conversations with a few others of the older generation I got a story which differed in details but remained the same in principal , The main point of the tale was that at the close of the 12^th century a mercenary army was gathered by Richard 1^st( the Lionheart ) who, following his Imprisonment Ransom and Release , had the intention of marching to England to retake the throne from his brother John . (OK enough name dropping , on with the story ) Along with the soldiers and volunteers this army was joined by Saddlers, Armourers, Grooms, Whores, Cooks,CardSharps , Bottlewashers Various Travellers and of course families of Itinerant Entertainers , one such were French and called Feldan , they stayed and the name over the years evolved into Yelding, Now I'm not saying that this story is the undeniable truth , most of it is apocryphal but the fact remains that a lot of the older ones I spoke to said that they had heard that the family had originally come from France and something about the Crusades and there was enough rumour and speculation to give decent credibility to a lot of the rest .
   
   
   What we do know is the Yeldings have been here for a long time as have the Fossetts and being in the same business they would have met and in many cases joined up to marry and/or work together, the first marriage we have actual hard evidence for is Robert Fossett and Emma Yelding some 6 generations ago but its not beyond consideration that there were some before that . There were of course other families following the same travelling path , some with Fairground type presentations , others with Acrobatic Feats , Juggling , Wire Walking , displays of Strength , Magic ,Boxing and Wrestling booths , selling Charms and Potions , Fortune Telling in fact anything that would draw a crowd and earn a little money from passing round the hat or having a closed area with a box at the entrance for admission payment . ( this was called a fit-up )They would appear at village fetes , galas, market days, some would get work in stately homes in times of celebration, Weddings, Birthdays , Births etc; and so it went for many generations until in 1778 along came Philip Astley.
   
   OK time for a couple of Mythbusters , No1, Philip Astley didn't use the word 'Circus', his first arena in waterloo was called ASTLEYS AMPHITHEATRE'Circus' was first used in modern terms by Charles Dibdin who was a famous Composer and writer of Pantomimes for the London theatres, he with Astleys competitor Charles Hughes started the ROYAL CIRCUS & PHILHARMONIC ACADEMYin 1782, 
   Mythbuster No 2 ,Astley was not the first to do trickriding in a circle , it was previously done by a rider called OLD SAMPSON who Astley trained under as an apprentice when he left the Army. Astleys riding displays took place in what he called THE RIDE orTHE CIRCLE .In 1770 he moved premises to westminster bridge where he erected covered seating and engaged jugglers, wirewalkers and a clown to fill in the spaces between his riding displays , I have no doubt that among these 'fill-ins ' there would have been a smattering of the Fossett / Yelding and other established entertainer families and so 'Modern Circus ' was born .
   CIRCUS ( a potted historical personal view )

The Circus/travelling families had survived and to some extent thrived 

for quite a few generations delivering what the public wanted to see 

because if they didn't then hunger was around the next corner , it was a 

buyers market which always promotes invention and modernisation, 

then along come Astley , Hughes , Dibdin, Ducrow and others 

followed by the erection of Amphitheatres and circus buildings all over 

Europe , now their situation underwent a huge and dramatic change. 

Those lineages and families of Acrobats, Clowns Jugglers et al had 

performed throughout the UK and Europe for centuries ,earning 

their money as independent professionals, now they were becoming 

part of an integrated entertainment for which an all inclusive ticket was 

sold with the money going to the producer/director/owner/ and the 

artists receiving a payment which they would have to negotiate . 

Along with being paid a wage they lost their independence in artistic 

choice with that being replaced by the whim and personal taste or style 

of the aforementioned producers/directors/owners the majority of whom 

were just businessmen or private people ( called Jossers in the circus 

fraternity)who saw an opportunity to make some money and started a 

Circus

(This still happens today in many shows where a director / producer or 

especially the owner with little practical knowledge of the particular art 

he is producing , especially comedy, tries to persuade the artist that 'his 

vision' takes precedence over the artists knowledge and experience , I 

know because I have had this happen many times ) . 

This system survived intact for many years with Circus performances 

taking place in theatres and specially constructed buildings ,Ducrow 

built over 100 in Russia alone , then in 1850 the first canvas tent was 

introduced and everything changed again, it spread worldwide in the 

space of a few decades The tent being more mobile was the perfect 

solution to bring Circus to the masses everywhere ,The introduction of 

scripted storylines , 'Dick Turpins Ride To York ' was a famous one in 

English Circus ,wild and exotic animals could be better displayed, 

Hippodrome tracks were laid outside the ring for huge tableaux, massive 

parades and in some cases Chariot Races imitating those in the Roman 

Colosseums. 

America had a plethora of three ring circuses which were built up and 

dismantled on a daily basis by hundreds of workers and were 

transported across the country in massive rail transport, so huge were 

the logistics of this undertaking that before WW1 the American 

Government sought advice from the Ringling Brothers Barnum and 

Bailey Circus administration on how they achieved the movement of all 

the artists , staff , animals and equipment so efficiently and quickly in 

order that they could use it as an example it for the U.S Army .

Circus throughout the world was flourishing , getting bigger and more 

audacious all the time , the 20^thcentury in the UK saw the big three of 

Billy Smarts , Chipperfields and Bertram Mills all with seating capacities 

in the thousands along with myriad other circuses touring the country 

from top to bottom, each show had it's own style, Billy Smarts , all 

Sequins Glitter and Glamour , Charity performances every autumn on 

Clapham Common in London with TV and Film stars in attendance,
Chipperfields had their Wild Animal Spectacular , Human Cannonballs , 

Somersaulting cars, Danger and Drama.

Bertram Mills Circus was class and dignity personified ,the shows 

were elegant there were two pages in full coachman dress and white 

powdered wigs just to open and close the ring for the entrance and exit 

of the animals . They were regularly visited by members of the Royal 

family each winter at the Olympia Exhibition hall . 

But slowly and surely these shows were the architects of their own 

downfall, Within a decade all three were gone , Chipperfields went to 

South Africa in the early 60's a folly from which they never recovered , 

Bertram Mills closed its doors around the same time quoting the 

competition from Television as its main reason .
Billy Smarts continued for a few more years on the success of 

their Xmas and Easter TV specials but they too succumbed to the 

inevitable.

Smaller circuses in the UK survived, some run by descendants of the 

original travelling families but they never achieved the heights or 

success of the big shows , over the following years many came and went 

until in the 21^stcentury we are left with the majority of the big circuses 

in the UK , Europe and America having closed or downsized, the fight 

to retain wild animal content all but lost and the ever increasing 

possibility of no domestic animals being allowed to perform in Circuses a 

serious threat. 

So 250 years after Astleys great dream where are we ? 

Over the next couple of decades economics will decide the fate of not 

just travelling Circus and Fairgounds but many of our cherished 

traditions , the rising price of fuel , transport, health and safety 

regulations, the price of venues, plus the added cost of the effects of 

Brexit ,whether soft or hard following which artists, drivers , much 

needed tent staff who have to be recruited from outside the UK will need 

visas and work permits all of which will add to the expenses of an 

industry which is not doing very well as it is.

Is the future bright ?

Many of the travelling families from all those centuries ago are still 

around , My own family are spread worldwide from Alaska to 

Denmark ,thank heaven for Facebook ,it has helped us document most 

of them 

There are descendants from the Fossetts, Yeldings, Paulos, Pinders, 

Ginnets and many other 'younger families (only around for 

a century or so ) still working in Circus and the entertainment

industry , This is not just in the UK but all over the world many of the 

old families have survived and carried on , the exception was Russia 

where nearly all the circus families perished during the communist 

regime of the first half of the 20^thcentury 

Could they go back to the old ways of working once the Big Top has 

completed it's final 'Pull Down' ? Over recent years the Festival 

Circuit has grown hugely in the UK and throughout Europe, from two 

of the biggest, Glastonbury in the UK and the Sziget Festival in 

Budapest there are literally hundreds of them throughout Europe ,they 

are filled with performers who have never seen the inside of a Big 

Top, there is an upsurge in the number of small circus companies 

comprised of just a few artists who regularly appear at these festival 

along with touring local theatres and small concert halls ,many of them 

are the product of the plethora of Circus Schools that have opened in 

recent years, these small groups carry no other equipment than their 

props and costumes, they have minimum admin so their costs and 

expenses are low and the money is shared . 

Festivals also proved work for face-painters , fortune tellers, wall of 

death riders, small fairground rides and sideshows , flea circuses , plus

music ,dance, food and fun .It seems were going back to the days of the 

independent professionals.
The traditional families have survived in one way or another for nearly a 

millennia , a hardy and persistent community they have proven that they 

have the ability to adapt to any situation in WW1 many dispatches 

from the front to the War Office in London asked for more recruits 

from the 'circus and fairground community ' “ because in a crisis these 

guys know exactly what to do and can turn their hands to anything” .
One soldier in WW1 won the Victoria Cross, the Croix De Guerre 

and the highest military honour Russia could bestow ,

He was a British Showman 

Without all the peripheral nonsense, as long as someone wants to juggle , do a handstand , throw a somersault or fall over to get a laugh the Circus Arts will survive and flourish , If the old families die out new ones will take over and start their own dynasties and Circus will survive , 

Because it always has. 

me and the EU

This was written in 2019 before the pig's ear of brexit delivered by Johnson and Co resulting in the corruption and incompetence that is dividing our society with potentially disastrous consequences.

please forgive my Naivety

I Think the original policy of the EU for a tarrif free, open border union with free movement of goods and services between nations was a wonderful idea and I still do but it should have stopped there, the 'Ever Closer Union' in my opinion is a bad idea. It's not just trying to unite many different cultures and national identities it wants to subjugate them and render them impotent under the bureaucratic regime of Brussel ,this will never happen because of historical emnities between various european nations , there's an old chinese saying that if you want to keep much rice hold it loosely, if you squeeze it falls away .

I have never understood why the 28 ( soon to be 27) didn't follow a policy of remain and reform .

I have benefitted more than most from the EU with my travels and work throughout Europe, Brexit will make my life and many others a lot more difficult on a personal level , what it will do to the nation I don't know but I suspect it won't be good , speculators will attack sterling , our trade negotiations will be done from a disadvantageous position and i suspect many other consequences as yet unknown will also occur . Having said all that the EU is a massive organisation employing thousands of people and representing many more , it has a song , and a flag , F1 has a flag and a theme song , UEFA has a flag and a theme song played before evey Champions league match , everyone respects it ,

The Brexit party turning their backs on the EU parliament during the tune 'Ode To Joy ' was , again in my opinion a sign of childish petulance but more than that it was a mark of huge disrespect and a blot on the United Kingdom and everyone in it ( apart from Ann Widdicome and Brexit party members )

Whatever the differences between political philosophies there must always be room for civility and reason .

Managing Clowns 

My family has been part of the entertainment profession going back many centuries , Our lives and our work are intrinsically linked and exemplify the 'You are what you do , Not what you say you'll do' philosophy attributed to Jung but stemming from the Aristotolien 'These virtues are formed by man in his doing the actions '.

The preceding generations of travelling performers probably never heard of Jung or Aristotle and would be surprised that their lifestyle could be described in such a philosophical way but in fact they epitomised it . 

I am a Clown / Comedian/Comic and from the age of 15 I have been self-employed , my job is making people laugh and I have done it in Theatres , Night clubs , Stadiums and Circuses. It's not the normal 9-5 job with holidays and weekends off because apart from the actual performing I have to arrange the contracts, negotiate the salary, sort out the travel and any permits , visas etc for myself and my family . 

In earlier times we had Agents who arranged contracts but with the rise of social media they are few and far between nowadays as every job opportunity and individual artists availability is advertised in a myriad of Facebook,Twitter, Whatsapp,and Instagram posts , Every circus and entertainment event throughout the world has a presence on the internet but with this advance in modern communication the personal knowledge of who the particular circus or event is owned and managed by and how they handle their business has been lost which has led to a huge change in the whole industry . Previously the reputation of a circus dictated who would be willing to work for them, the larger ones would pay a little less but the prestige of working for a successful show meant that your profile was raised and any future negotiation with another director or agent would take that into account ,with a smaller show you could get a slightly higher salary but there was always a risk that if business was bad you wouldn't get paid because the money wasn't coming in and so the merry-go-round continued . , The business thrived here post war because (A) we are an island and (B) many of the circus directors and most of the artists were related in some way. Everyone knew everyone else and any scandal was immediately known to the majority of the profession by way of the Circus 'Jungle Drums' which were much more effective than FB or Twitter to name and shame the miscreants . 

Each show had it's advantages and disadvantages but they mostly all followed the same principle which was a very simple one 

'please the public and leave the grounds clean '

within that sentence and all that it implies lay all that they needed to do.

In those times there was no major oversight organisation to supervise circuses or artists , each individual show and artist handled their business and life according to their own moral and ethical guidelines and it worked reasonably well. 

Since the eighties things have changed a lot , there are more shows owned by 'Jossers'( people coming from a non-circus background ) who have a different outlook , To the travelling families who owned or worked for a circus it was a lifestyle , The new generation of directors and artists from non travelling families treat it as a job.

I have lived though these changes and like many of my generation I've had to adapt both how I work and how I handle the business side of my life , New laws and regulations mainly regarding Health and Safety and Transport , which are necessary for large factories and haulage firms with multiple employees , have had a serious 

and in many cases detrimental affect on the travelling community and because we have no representation In Parliament or anywhere else and are a minority in the population we are overlooked .Circuses public liability insurance used to cover the Artists in the show but since the late eighties Circus Artists have had to provide their own , we obtain it from Equity the actors Union but there is no scale of price according to risk so I as a Clown paid the same as a High Wire Walker . There is a scale but its dependent on your earnings. Other companies won't provide public liability for circus artists as there are not enough to make it economically viable ,
The biggest change to Circus throughout the world has been the debate about performing animals .
Animal welfare which is a completely different topic to Animal Rights is something that circuses have adhered to for many years since the debate began but the hypocrisy , lies and criminal activity on behalf of many of the Animal Rights campaigners is staggering . The Government , under pressure and lobbying from the organisations representing Animal Rights, have passed discriminatory laws which affect only travelling circus and they claim to be doing it on 'Ethical' Grounds despite presentations from learned and knowledgeable experts in the field to whom scant attention was given .

In more recent years the influx of artists from Circus Schools has increased greatly, many of them have no experience of travelling life or have any knowledge of the history of Circus and in many cases they are taken advantage of in regard to contracts, conditions etc. 

In my opinion the virtues that Circus lived by have altered, whether for better or worse remains to be seen , I can only look through my eyes and my experience , I am pessimistic because in my opinion society is also not as virtuous or as ethical as in past times.
I write these previous paragraphs to show how life has dramatically changed for me and for other artists over the years .
Despite the changes I have tried not to change my work /life and continue with my original aim , to make people laugh.

My workshop is and has always been anywhere there is an audience , but when I perform it's tailored to the particular public in front of me , this is part of the craft and the one that gets easier with time and knowledge .
Of course it involves working for different nationalities, cultures and ethnic groups and having to be aware of those differences and how to adapt .

Some countries have a completely different humour and finding what made them laugh is challenging but vital to any success , In Hong Kong its all about physical comedy , any routine where water is thrown or something goes bang usually works well , In the Middle East much the same applied but it wasn't so much what you did but they are more concerned about following their dress code and the rules of their society. These changes don't stop at the end of the performance , you have to live your life in their way as long as you are there. As a traveller all of my life none of this is a problem we have always lived by the 'when in Rome do as the Romans do 'principle and if we are with other foreign circus artists that feeling is universal amongst us as a group . 

The central pillar of the artists social way of life involves acceptance , at any one time , especially travelling with a circus, the community around you will be composed of many different nationalities, religions , ethnicities , none of which is important , what is important is what they do as performers , a juggler is a juggler , he's not a Black juggler , a Muslim juggler , an Atheist juggler , he's defined by one of two criteria ,is he a good juggler or is he a bad juggler ! this applies to all artists.
Over the generations these virtues have brought about what I have always considered to be a microcosm of what society should and could be, compared to the mainstream we have far less instances of Divorce , Drunkenness, Marital or Child abuse, Drug use and general Anti-social behaviour , this is the same for circuses throughout the world . Our work is our life and vice-versa , A bad show will depress me until I get back and do a good one , if I have a cold or an illness , there is 'Dr Adrenalin' who will see me through the performance , 'The Show Must Go On ' isn't just a saying from the movies it is part of our moral and ethical way of life because from our earliest times.

'We are what we do , not what we say we'll do ' 

Brexit , EU in the 21st Century

The European constitution

"The most important thing the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe sets out to do is to create an entirely new, different and vastly more powerful European Union entity in the constitutional form of a Federal European State, without changing the "EU" name. Therefore people will not be aware of the constitutional significance of what is happening.'

This is the opening paragraph from a critical summary of the proposed EU constitution by the National Platform EU research and Information Centre Dublin Ireland which is affiliated to the European Alliance of EU-critical Movements (TEAM)

                                                                                  ----

In 2001 the 'Convention on the Future of Europe ' headed by former French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing was tasked with drafting a new treaty that would introduce a Constitution of Europe. What emerged was a proposal to build the long held desire of many europhiles  A United States of Europe , a single entity subjugating the language, culture and independence of the then 25 member states which would  administer and control our Laws, Economies , Rights, Defence and every other aspect of our daily lives and freedoms with a President , a Defence secretary , an Economic minister and a Commission  all   chosen by the leaders of the member states , not elected by the citizenry

Slowly but surely the long fought for Democracy of all the member states was being taken away to be replaced by an institution that was an unelected , unanswerable bureaucracy  controlling  our foreseeable future ,

                     Sound Familiar ?
If this is reminiscent of the Soviet Union and its regime , You may say that I couldn't possibly comment !

 As we all know the constitution was defeated at the polls by various member states  including the French so how come we are now living in a  system that mirrors  nearly exactly what that rejected  constitution proposed ? From it's beginning as the EEC up to the present day through a succession of small incremental changes to the different treaties already in place it has been fundamentally altering it's original mandate in order  to achieve the long term aim of a Single State Europe .



                                           Conclusion 

The UK's decision to leave the EU is fact , how it's done is still under discussion .  More effort could possibly have been made to reform the EU from within before taking the decision to leave. The UK is the largest economy in Europe and as such has the influence to recommend and maybe bring about much needed change within the institutions of  Brussels .
Having made the decision maybe the other political parties and other aspects of British society could have been involved in some sort of  'Think Tank' to come up with  ideas and suggestions of how we should approach negotiations and how our relationship with Europe would proceed after our departure .
The semi-secretive way it's been handled by a single political party has led to unrest and divisions which are going to be extremely hard to overcome, but at least we don't have Donald Trump to contend with , Now that would be a problem !!!!!!!.

   
All of the facts above are available to everyone, I did it so anyone can do it .

It takes a little more than just reading the headline or listening to a soundbite .