Free outdoor contemporary circus in central London

Published: 5 June 2018
Reporter: Vera Liber

Circus Sampler—presented by Crying Out Loud as part of Circus250, the nationwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of modern circus—will present two weekends of contemporary circus in central London this summer on 28 and 29 July and 4 and 5 August in the Edmond J Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House.

There will also be a Circus Originals exhibition from 25 July to 7 August in the East Wing Galleries of Somerset House.

Circus Sampler matches hip hop theatre with Chinese pole and tight wire, juggling with basketball skills and brass bands, hula-hooping with roller-skating to celebrate 250 years since Philip and Patty Astley pioneered circus in London. All afternoon performances and participatory events will be free.

Somerset House and Crying Out Loud have commissioned work from 65 artists, including experimental hip hop theatre collective Far From The Norm, hula-hoop acrobat and twelve-times Guinness World Record holder Marawa the Amazing and the Majorettes, juggling maestros Gandini Juggling and live brass music from French circus company Circa Tsuica.

The first weekend begins with Far From The Norm and a group of international and London artists in the London première of Union Black, a fusion of humour, hip hop and circus that draws on the worlds of football and the politics of Brexit, combining fast-paced footwork and physical floor-work with Chinese Pole and tight-wire.

Between performances, Marawa and the Majorettes will perform synchronised hula-hooping and roller skating, inviting audiences at the end of each show to learn how to spin a hoop.

On the second weekend, Gandini Juggling performs the world première of Cascade, accompanied by live brass music from Circa Tsuica, while thirty jugglers will perform within the rhythmic rise and fall of the 55 water jets of the courtyard fountain.

Circus Originals explores the history of contemporary circus from the beginnings of modern circus in the 1800s through to the radical acts of the 1980s and present-day styles and approaches.

It also features a new site-responsive installation, Remember This! by Rose English, who emerged from the conceptual art, dance and feminist scenes of 1970s Britain, reflecting her long fascination with circus, especially the equestrian arts.

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