Coloured lights: Giffords Circus at Chiswick House and Gardens

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Giffords Circus tours England annually and has arrived in Chiswick for the next week with its current show, Waterfield. Some circuses nowadays are stripped-down affairs focusing on a few circus elements or minimising costumes. In contrast, this show takes the old-time circus and gives it a modern twist. There’s wonder and whimsy, incredible costumes and staging, plus some spectacular acrobatic acts. The show is set to music performed by a live band, with an eclectic set of songs sung by Jenna Dearness-Dark. It feels both familiar and new at the same time. Animals are part of the performance, including a goose that spreads its wings on command. What’s not to like? The show is simply irresistible. 

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The mood is set as you arrive. After passing under the A4 and entering Chiswick House and Garden via a nondescript car park, you are instantly transported. The dystopian, traffic-clogged London suburb becomes another time and place. Reddish circus wagons ring a large tent. Music plays. A carnival atmosphere prevails. On a perfect late spring or summer evening, as I experienced, the light and ambience add magic. Performers and ushers mingle with crowds, adding warmth. You feel you have arrived to see something special.

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Indeed, it is special. Performer Raf Shah holds the ring as a series of stunning acrobatic acts unfold. The Cienna Sisters, at times, seem suspended in mid-air. The Addis Ababa Troupe manages to fly and backflip on top of each other. There’s also comic relief. Olivia Louise Swoboda-Weinstein and Stefan Swoboda, as Ratty and Mole, try to interrupt the proceedings. 

Nothing quite prepares you for the Flyers Valencia performing in their Wheel of Death. A large metallic contraption fills the circus tent. Then they get in it and run. Next, they jump on top of it. Watching circus performers do death-defying stunts is always unnerving. The thrill comes from seeing someone attempt something beautiful and difficult. But it is also unsettling to consider what happens on an off-night. Thankfully, only nerves are frayed that evening. At the end, the audience is invited to join the performers in the ring and dance the night away. 

Directed by Cal McCrystal with music direction by Joe Pickering, Giffords Circus continues at Chiswick House and Gardens until 7 June before continuing touring through to September 27. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Photo credit: Jeff Moore

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