Review: GIFFORDS CIRCUS - AVALON, Chiswick House & Gardens
Photo credit: Emily Jo West
There is a new generation of travelling circuses with enhanced production values that are entertaining audiences in village settings around the UK and Giffords Circus is acclaimed by many as being one of the best. Circus has certainly changed dramatically since the days when Billy Smart and Chipperfield circuses entertained in the Big Top as a result of the concerns over animal welfare over the conditions that the performing elephants and lions were kept in. Cirque du Soleil’s rapid growth in the 1990’s and 2000’s put breathtaking spectacle wrapped up in a themed beautifully costumed show, in place of the animals and kept the circus genre alive.
The latest Gifford Circus production is themed ‘Avalon’ with characters from the stories of King Arthur and the round table, and the Big Top is reimagined as the castle in Camelot with performers dressed attractively in medieval costumes. It cleverly combines the sparkle and magic of the Big Top with an excellent six-piece band led by wonderful singer Nell O’Hara as Guinevere in the Ringmaster role, speaking in rhyming couplets. It creates a lovely warm welcoming atmosphere and appears to attract an upmarket audience to the lovely Chiswick House setting. Even the high-quality programme is beautifully produced to reinforce the theme.
Of course, the success of the show requires more than some attractive setting and dressing, it needs a variety of top-class circus performers to entertain with skill and elements of danger, and create a spectacle to amaze and delight audiences. Gifford does not include the really dangerous acts of Circus Extreme or Circus Zyair whose high wire acts, Globe of Death motorbikes or Wheel of Death appear breathtakingly dangerous to watch. It does, however, have some very good acts who entertain and enthral the audience with their charming presentation.
Dylan and Asia Medini from Italy are presented as Sir Lancelot and Morgan Le Fey to deliver three routines of great skill, dexterity, and a little bit of jeopardy, with an impressive multi-hoop demonstration, a rather nervy Rola-bola routine and a fast and furious roller-skating double act. Morgan Barbour and Victoria Sejr as The Damsels of the Ring have travelled from The Americas to present a wonderful high flying double act on a flown ring which is breathtakingly good. Nick Hodge as King Arthur shows his strength on the fast-moving Cyr wheel and then suspends above the ring on a rope.
Two animal acts provide some variety with Latoya Donnert from Hungary as Lady of Shalott and a single cute little pony who trots around the ring and between posts, and Pat Clarrison and Pip Ashley as Sir Dragonet and Lenore perform a very good four dog act in which Guest stole the show working without instruction! Their act is fun and humourous. The main comic elements of the show are left to Tyler West as Cuthbert, a bundle of comic energy with some silly business involving a pea shooter, juggling and a sword in the stone who then does a slick reinvention of the three cups and a ball routine using his head and three buckets with Maximilian Stia as Merlin. Merlin himself presents some fire eating, an escape from a flown box and a card trick whereby the emphasis is on the comedy rather than illusion. Dany Rivelino as Bartold adds his own elements of clowning.
They save the best to last with The Godfathers from Ukraine as the knights of the round table with a powerful tumbling acrobatic that shows strength, poise and daring, and left you wanting more. Each act is accompanied by the great sounding band with lively tunes such as ‘Tiger Feet’, ‘Instant Replay’ and ‘Paint in Black’ that gives the whole show a rich celebratory feel as they all come together for a wonderful dance finale.
This is circus reinvented, and the chance for a three-course meal after in the adjoining tent. It is a wonderful combination of traditional circus acts, with a great live band and the production values of the West End, and will keep circus firmly on the must see show list for families.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
Giffords Circus: Avalon plays at Chiswick House until 23 June before continuing its tour around the south of England show grounds throughout the summer. For more info, please click here.
