My Beautiful Circus by Giffords Circus

Giffords Circus
My Beautiful Circus by Giffords Circus

I haven’t been to the circus in years so when I was invited to Giffords Circus’ London press night I jumped at the chance. I have a huge soft spot for aerial acts so knowing they had some in the show only added to my excitement.

Giffords CircusThe location for Giffords Circus’ celebration of 250 year years since the birth of circus is Chiswick House and Gardens. You are greeted with a beautiful tent, lots of hand painted colourful wagons and glamorous company members wondering around. I was lucky that the evening I went was a beautiful summer evening, the perfect summer evening to sit and listen to the band pre-show and mill around. This visual feast really helped you get into the mood pre-show.

The first thing to say about the show itself was that it was brilliantly fast paced. Each act was timed brilliantly with some of the hugely talented gymnasts and aerialist given longer to shine while Tweedy the clown made short but frequent appearances throughout the night. The whole show was fast paced which ensured that the audience weren’t given a chance to get bored.

Giffords Circus also had a classy feel with the full troupe decked out in 1930’s attire and the music such as Cole Porter and Gershwin complimenting that.

Nancy Trotter Laundry is our guide through the night turning her hand to dance, singing and even at one point becoming Tweedy’s assistant. She is animated and engaging with a voice that suited the era well. Tweedy the Clown gets top billing for the show and you can see why. I am not normally a fan of clowns or slapstick but Tweedy manages to combine these traditional clowning elements with a huge amount of talent in other fields such as ariel work and juggling which impressed me.

Giffords CircusThe rest of the talent was hugely varied. Whilst there were animals there were none of the acts that have now, quite rightly fallen out of favour Instead there was Diana Vediashkina who made her Dachschunds dance, a turkey with musial timing and Dany Cesar with a small troupe of horses.

The more human acts are eye watering with the Dias Family performing an act which saw one of them atop a ladder contorting herself whilst the other was at the bottom balancing the ladder on the soles of her feet. There is also the Cretu Troupe which sees them flung onto each others shoulders with, what looks like, ease.

It may also be worth mentioning that I got to sample some food from Circus Sauce, the restaurant that travels with the Circus as well as some of the pizza cooked in their pizza wagon. The food was delicious and at £35 a head for a 3 course meal this is an addition to the evening that would make an unusual night out a real experience.

Giffords CircusI would highly recommend Giffords Circus to everyone, from those unfamiliar with circus to the circus lovers and from the families seeking an afternoon or evening out to couples or group of friends. It really is a different evening with plenty to marvel and laugh at.

To find out more about Giffords Circus then visit their website. It is on at Chiswick House and Gardens until the 9th July with the tour itself running until the 30th September.

If you liked this write up you might also like my review of School of Rock, Matilda and Heathers. 



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