Review: Gifford’s Circus: Waterfield, Chiswick House & Gardens 

I will admit that I am not a regular circus attender, but as Giffords has a reputation which precedes it, I was delighted to spend a sunny summer’s evening in its welcoming Big Top. Entering its enclosure at Chiswick Park feels like stepping back in time to a magical bygone world where audience members eat candyfloss, surrounded by beautiful hand-painted wagons, while listening to a jaunty three-piece jazz band. There is no denying the ability of this troupe to offer so much-needed escapism.

Inside the tent, the charm continues. Each year, the group picks a theme, and this year it’s “Waterfield”, loosely based on the characters in the classic British children’s book, The Wind in the Willows. Each performer is dressed as a creature you might find in a water meadow – from crickets, to a fox, to stoats. The staging is atmospheric, with twinkling tall grasses and toadstools fringing the performance area. The costumes, by Takis, are intricate and eye-catching, offering a stylish nod to the creatures they are meant to represent, with other costumes incorporating punky textured twists on country tweed. The show is accompanied by a band dressed as crickets, and a singer in glittery white plumage, who provide scene-setting covers of songs throughout the evening.

There are several outstanding acts, which look stunning, appear technically very difficult and are performed with aplomb. The aerial act performed by the Cienna Sisters (Sydney Caerrera Wilson and Cassidy Grace Villin) is beautiful, with a number of heart-stopping moments as they spin high in the circus tent, moving gracefully through balletic poses. The display by the Newts (the Addis Ababa Troupe) is another feat of physicality which is extraordinary to behold, as they effortlessly leap onto each other’s shoulders, tumble and throw each other in the air. On press night, they failed to land one set piece twice, and by the third and finally successful attempt, every member of the audience was on their feet, cheering. The Jaster’s knife-throwing act (Giacomo Sterza and Elena Busnelli) is classic circus done well, with the audience holding its breath as knives are launched at the assistant strapped to a spinning board.

There are a few animal acts – although I use the term ‘acts’ loosely. At one point, some horses of differing sizes are paraded around the ring. On another occasion, a goose walks the circumference of the tent and spreads its wings on command. I would question whether there’s any need for animals at all in a circus like this, which provides such quality entertainment with its human performers. To me, their inclusion felt odd, but my teenage daughter pronounced them cute – so perhaps they may prove more popular with a younger generation.

There is light relief in the form of clowns in between some of the more high-tension performances. Ratty (Stefan Swoboda)  and Mole (Olivia Louise Swoboda-Weinstein), who are talented circus performers in their own right, appear at points in the show, trying to snatch their moment in the ring by offering to do various acts with varying success. They add a welcome change of rhythm but are most watchable when they perform an impressive balancing act.I don’t want to give away too much about the finale, which is an extraordinary act by the Valencia Flyers (Miguel Angel Hernandez Diaz and Carlos Mayorga Macias) involving two large connected spinning wheels strung up in the tent, with two performers moving in and around them. It feels death-defying and left me slightly queasy with fear. It is with some relief that, as it ends and the cast takes to the floor for their bows,  the audience, jangled by the high tensions of the night, spills into the ring to join the entertainers in a final frenzied dance.

Writer & Director: Cal McCrystal
Associate Director: Michael Fletcher
Production & Costume Designer: Takis
Musical Director: James Keay

Giffords Circus plays at Chiswick Gardens until Sunday June 7, before touring elsewhere in the UK