187 stories by "Katharine Kavanagh"
Flip FabriQue have officially been a company for four years, but the troupe of six have been friends for ten, ever since attending Quebec Circus School together. After they graduated, they w…
Penarth pier has seen fashions come and go. Since it was first built in 1898, it's watched an evolving array of leisure activities find a home in the (now restored) art deco pavilion. In Y M…
It is a little known fact that, after Shakespeare, Britain's most successful performing arts export is circus. The classical form, established in
Entering the turreted world of tents that forms the Cirque du Soleil pop-up kingdom on the waterfront of Old Montréal, we pass under bright yellow arches of truss, adorned with the butterfl…
The first show I see is Demain, cannily themed around the itinerant life of street performers. Marie-Josée Gauthier, a regular teacher at the school as well as an actress and theatre direct…
The yellow and red striped tent of UniverSoul Circus aptly signals the gaiety it houses inside. This is circus reinvented as one big party, with a communal spirit at its heart. A jaunty logo…
The 11th season from family owned and operated Circus Mondao is a welcome reminder that the best shows don't always come from the biggest operators. Away from the big city, their tents are p…
Smoke & Mirrors, the show that jointly won last year's Jackson's Lane Total Theatre award for circus at Edinburgh Festival Fringe (with B-Orders) is back in the UK for a short tour afte…
A pristine white tent in the carpark of the football stadium marks the temporary pitch of Continental Circus Berlin in Cardiff. A spacious foyer tent is edged with stands selling burgers, ca…
If we pay attention to the writings hung around the bare brick walls of the Roundhouse's Dorfman Hub, where the opening installation of new multi-platform concept Me, Mother is underway, we …
The Finnish double-bill of Pinta and WireDo began with the stronger of the two pieces, WireDo, from tightwire artist Hanna Moisala. Both shows are presented as part of SIRKUS " a showcase of…
The Insect Circus is a delightful wonderland of incredible mini-beasts, grown to human proportions and trained for our viewing pleasure by a multi-talented troupe of performers, headed up by…
The new triple bill of work directed by Samuel Tétreault, one of the eponymous co-founders of 7 Fingers (7 Doigts…), is a programme of collaborations with three world-class dance choreogr…
Circus and books are two of my favourite things, so the chance to see them combined in the new production from Bikes & Rabbits, touring under the CryingOutLoud production banner, was to…
This luminous production of Philip Glass' 1983 opera Akhnaten bathes the senses in rich sonic and visual colour that sears the tantalising character of the titular Egyptian pharaoh " and his…
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff; 10th February 2016 This stunning production of Shakespeare’s three Henry VI plays, merged into one rich adaptation, brings the terror of civ…
Barbican Theatre, London International Mime Festival; 6th February 2016 As the curtain rises for He Who Falls (Celui Qui Tombe when not anglicised for this festival), a wooden platform&…
Amaluna is a fantasy storybook whisked into life with twinkling lights, colourful costumes, a sea of acrobatic performers, and a rousing rock band. It's not the story of The Tempest, but Sha…
All Genius All Idiot is the youngest of the shows at this year's Mime Festival, and Svalbard's springlike greenery sometimes yields vibrant novelty with an exciting energy, while at others m…
'Bringing Friends Together…' reads the tagline across the brightly coloured cover of this weekend's programme of events and, for many, the Circus Reunion is the only opportunity in each ye…
Australian company Circa arrive back on UK shores with a wash of scenes that paint a tense journey of migrancy, and the pressures that can bring to human relationships. The six acrobats (Nat…
Expiry Date, from Belgian company BabaFish, is a moving last dance inside the mind of a man in his final moments. We know what's coming, but not how it will transpire. Memories jumble in and…
Every year, theatre company Improbable hold a national Open Space event called Devoted & Disgruntled for those working in the UK theatre sector. The worlds of circus and theatre are ove…
My first circus of 2016 has been a roller coaster " some highs, some lows, some coasting and most certainly a whole load of thrills. Presented by the Planet Circus team (who also brought th…
Exploring the evolution, trends and focus of various forms of circus training, the assignment asked us to either analyse our own training experience, envisage an 'ideal' circus education pro…
