Giffords Circus celebrates 25 years with retro American show
One of the UK's best-known traditional travelling circuses is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new 1950s America-themed show.Acrobats, magicians, musicians and clowns will be part of the Giffords Circus show, which is named Laguna Bay.The troupe will go on tour in the Cotswolds from 17 April to 28 September, starting in Stroud.Circus director Cal McCrystal said: "Set in the buoyant and sunny era of 1950s America, Laguna Bay is a spectacular blend of fun, excitement and charm."
In 2022, Giffords Circus was invited to perform an act at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal Variety Performance.Since 2012, Giffords Circus has been guided by Mr McCrystal, and award-winning director, writer and performer.His directing career spans Cirque du Soleil, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Irish National Theatre, English National Opera and Glyndebourne Opera.Circus Sauce – a travelling restaurant – will return to accompany the Laguna Bay tour, serving a banquet-style three-course meal on selected evenings.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
14 hours ago
- Metro
Strictly star Nick Knowles, 62, marries Katie Dadzie, 34, in lavish ceremony
Congratulations are in order for Nick Knowles, who has tied the knot with his girlfriend, Katie Dadzie. The DIY SOS presenter, 62, wed his 34-year-old partner this weekend in a romantic ceremony in Essex. Nick, who also took part in Strictly Come Dancing last series, got hitched at Braxted Park Estate, which is somewhat of a celebrity wedding hotspot, given that it's also where Rylan Clark married Dan Neal in 2015. Their lavish celebrations are rumoured to have cost six figures, with photos from their special day showing a large number of guests. Snaps capture Nick and Katie's loved ones outside the venue, gathering for photos. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Katie, who co-owns lingerie brand Boa Boa with her now-husband, opted to defy tradition with her dress. Straying from convention, she looked stunning in a strapless white gown adorned with blue flowers. She wore her brunette locks in a chic updo, accessorising simply with a silver necklace and, of course, her latest addition to the jewellery collection, a dazzling ring. Meanwhile, Nick also pushed against the typical groom attire, looking dapper in a blush pink tuxedo with black lapels, completing the look with a bowtie. A source previously shared that 'no expense had been spared' for Nick and Katie's nuptials. 'Nick and Katie's big day is taking place at Braxted Park, a stunning location in Essex,' they spilled to The Sun ahead of the lovebirds saying 'I do.' 'He's invited all of his famous pals, including his Strictly co-stars, so it's going to be a proper showbiz bash. 'Katie's dress is beautiful and is going to blow people away. Nick and Katie's guests will be treated to delicious food and amazing entertainment – really no expense has been spared.' It's currently unknown which of Nick's Strictly pals attended his wedding, but he featured on the BBC dance series alongside JB Gill, Tasha Ghouri, Wynne Evans, Wynne Evans, Jamie Borthwick, Sam Quek, and eventual winner Chris McCausland. Alas, Nick's own Strictly journey came to a sour end when he suffered a series of brutal injuries in training. He was forced to sit out of Movie Week with his pro partner, Luba Mushtuk, returning with a Paddington-themed routine the following Saturday, which ended up being his final hurrah. At the start of 2025, Nick revealed it was going to take eight months for him to recover fully after undergoing two surgeries: one to reattach his bicep and one to reconstruct his knee. By his side through the rehabilitation process, though, has been Katie. Following his Strictly stint, then-fiancée Katie warned that Nick was 'a shell of a man' due to being 'exhausted'. She started dating him in 2021, having met when their children became friends at a play centre. Nick has three sons and one daughter, whom he shares with two ex-wives, making Katie his third marriage. He has long been vocal about the backlash to his relationship with Katie, who is 28 years his junior. The TV personality previously told The Times that Katie 'occasionally wondered if it's all worth it' due to 'horrible' racist abuse she receives online. Nick said: 'It's really unpleasant and unfair,' with Katie also accused of being a 'golddigger' in her Instagram comments. 'Katie's a mum of two, she's super intelligent and capable, within just eight months her lingerie brand was stocked by Next. 'But you just get people being properly vile. So you understand when she goes, 'I don't know if I want to be around this'.' Nick was then asked if he tried to change her mind in those moments, to which he replied: 'No. I understand. But in the end we love each other very much.' Speaking in 2023 about the moment he popped the question, Nick revealed he actually used a Haribo ring. Nick shared on The One Show that Katie was travelling to see him in New Orleans and he realised it was 'the ideal time' to propose, but he 'didn't have a ring.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Therefore, he had to improvise with the gummy sweet, as it was 'all [he] had' on him. More Trending Ever the fixer, however, Nick still managed to make the moment memorable, taking a pair of scissors to the 'ring' to give it a jewel on top. He joked it was 'a dangerous move, as she does like Haribo', and the engagement ring could easily have been eaten instead. View More » Fortunately, Katie happily accepted his odd proposal and even kept the Haribo ring, storing it in a plastic bag at home before potentially getting it encased in perspex as a souvenir. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Nick Kyrgios issues heartfelt apology after brutal Wimbledon decision MORE: Celebrity Race Across the World 'signs up' beloved Strictly duo MORE: Strictly star says show left her in more pain than childbirth
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Telegraph
There's no better way of spending a family evening than Gifford's Circus
Celebrating its 25th anniversary yet seeming to have been a fixture in the circus landscape for aeons, the old-world charm of the Cotswolds-based Giffords Circus offers an antidote to everything that's miserable about the UK at the moment. The sight of Giffords' big-top, with attendant gypsy caravans – as if spirited from the pages of Dickens but serving lots of good grub and drink too – is itself enchanting. And the bucolic vision of its late founder Nell Gifford of like-minded artists pitching up on village greens is honoured by the picturesque stop-offs. But the visual delight is maximised by the 1950s America-themed show itself, which, with Cal McCrystal directing, has the aura of a fully-fledged theatre production. Projected imagery of rippling water bathes the ring-floor to help conjure a dreamlike resort inspired by Atlantic City. There's neon signage for Sal's Motel, a soda bar booth, palm trees, and a bandstand. The retro music, performed live, emits a sunshine blast of nostalgia. An opening bout of beach-ball, for instance, is conducted to the happy-clappy sound of doo-wop hit Lollipop, a grinning acrobatic troupe from Ethiopia casually juggling clubs and stepping in time to the tunes. This isn't one for those craving a lot of spectacular death-defying daring – no one is flying from a trapeze, being shot from a cannon or whizzing at speed on motorbikes. Much entertainment is provided by irrepressible resident buffoon Tweedy. Cast as the motel bellboy, he kicks things off with inspired ineptitude involving a deck-chair, and continually tries to sabotage the cheesy variety magician (Maxi), his yearning for ice-cream climaxing in a drenching melée. The animal contribution is also lo-fi and reassuringly genteel: a brazenly bribed Shetland pony and an eager Patterjack are the cutest mascots. It's all very English, with a put-on American accent. Yet while homespun, it still reaches for the stars – and takes risks. The young Garcia brothers (Antonio and Connor) elicit awe with their lithe, gravity-defying handstands, spinning headstands and Charles Atlas physiques. Their parents, Pablo and Vikki provide tongue-in-cheek jeopardy, dangling from a renegade vintage air-plane. Spanish beefcake Randy Forgione Vega whirls high in the air, wielding hand-straps and old-school machismo. But for elegance, grace and a sensuousness that defines the show's judicious mix of flamboyance, flesh and family-friendly fare, there's no beating Daniela Muñoz Landestoy from Cuba and Noémi Novakovics who hails from Hungary. The pair ascend to the sound of Gershwin's Summertime (blissfully sung by Nell O'Hara) and hang suspended and twirling using just their hair for support (ouch!). It's all over in a flash, yet you intuit the long dedication and sense of personal destiny behind it. We must treasure these folk – and their art-form. An art-form perpetuated with toil, sweat and thrilling bravura by Giffords. Tours to Sept 28; tickets: giffordscircus
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- The Guardian
Giffords Circus: Laguna Bay review – cheeky, magical and bucketfuls of fun
The celebrations kick off in a low-key fashion. It's been 25 years of Giffords Circus and Tweedy the Clown is larking about with a deck chair. It's all very silly and very British; an unassuming vaudeville act that takes great skill but mainly just feels full of joy. My four-and-a-half-year-old son, Benji, is up way past his bedtime but is having a ball watching a show that celebrates the tremendous skill of Giffords' performers – but also their passion and commitment, which light up Laguna Bay with a special kind of warmth and magic. A feeling of family runs through all Giffords productions. Lots of the performers are related and most have been working in circus their whole lives. The show is also performed in memory of founder Nell Gifford, which imbues everything with a delicate sort of tenderness. The Ethio-Salem Troupe have been with Giffords Circus from the beginning and, in costumes that explode with colour, they bounce wildly about the circus tent. First they throw skittles. Then they throw themselves. Later they'll jump through hoops and, finally, through fire. All of it feels effortless, somehow very human and full of love. Ahead of the show, Benji and I read the programme notes and come across Pablo and Vickki Garcia's act, A Sensation in the Sky. I warn Benji there won't be an actual plane. Same goes for Daniela Muñoz Landestoy andNoémi Novákovics's hair-hanging act. They may not actually be hanging from their hair. But I'm wrong. The Garcias dangle from a plane the couple made themselves. At one point, Vickki Garcia seems to be holding on to the plane – and spinning wildly – with just her mouth. The hair hangers really do dangle from their hair. Benji cannot believe what he is seeing. There's so much more, in a night crafted with precision and ease by director Cal McCrystal and choreographer Kate Smyth. The show's loose theme is 50s America, so there's a bubblegum aesthetic to proceedings and a relaxed and romantic feel to the live onstage music. Nothing seems like hard work – even when aerial artist Randy Forgione Vega is soaring overhead ('He's like Iron Man,' cries Benji) or the Garcia brothers (sons of Pablo and Vickki) are contorting their bodies in ways unimaginable, all while wearing silly pyjamas and cheeky smiles. Tweedy the Clown has been with Giffords Circus for more than 20 years and is a constant presence on stage, playfully undermining the acts and keeping things light. The night's best skit doesn't involve high-wire stunts, dancing horses or dazzling magic. It features giant tubs of fake ice-cream and lashings of water (mostly splashed over the audience). Another highlight sees Tweedy pull a white ribbon out of his mouth. Over and over again. Benji shouts out gleefully: 'Will it go on for ever?' And if Benji had anything to do with it, that ribbon would just keep on spiralling, way past his bedtime and into his dreams. At Chiswick House and Gardens, London, until 22 June. Then touring until 28 September.
