Circus Pivots for a New Age

Sesame Street Circus (above) and Boss Squad. Credit: Shaun Higgins (below). Circus pivots for a new age

When the pandemic threatened to take down the Australian big top for good, performers and organisers alike pivoted in a way that only a circus performer can. Gwen Luscombe looks at how the industry fared to use innovation through crisis and keep the big top spirit alive and well.

The modern-day circus might look different from those just a few decades ago. They’ve (for the most part) turned away from animal acts and sideshow oddities to acrobatics, stunts and performer-driven entertainment. So too has the size and scale of circuses changed. What were once large-scale travelling shows employing several professionals of all types, today circuses have become vastly smaller, specialised and running on significantly smaller budgets.

It’s a common misconception that circuses, and the arts in general, are heavily funded through the government. While a portion of funding does come from grant support, it’s generally less than 30% of revenue, typically used to subsidise ticket costs. With the rising costs of insurances and venue hire, most performing arts organisations survive on ticket sales for performances.

This is why the COVID pandemic almost took the sector to extinction.

Wildhouse Circus Director and acrobat, Felicia Lannan explained “in March 2020 we had a tour cancelled just hours after finishing our bump in and tech run at the venue.

“We then had to rush all of our performers home from New Zealand and regional Victoria in order to keep them safe. Although we stayed connected and in contact with our performers, we couldn’t offer them any financial support throughout the year, as performing became impossible.

“As the director, I have tried my best to stay motivated and on top of admin during lockdown, ready to re-emerge as best we can.”

Originally the Madhouse Circus, South Australia - based Wildhouse Circus was formed by the National Institute of Circus Students in 2012 and has since toured to most major cities in Australia as well as an international tour to New Zealand. On average and depending on the needs of the touring production, it employs six acrobats and a technician.

Lannan said that the abrupt halt resulted in many major companies using the pause button to halt business, accessing support like JobKeeper to keep their acrobats employed and develop new works during lockdown.

However, not all companies were able to access the support. One of Australia’s larger companies, Circus Royale were left stranded for roughly six months in Victoria due to border closures in Western Australia, where their Perth home is located.

Boss Squad. Credit: Rudi Deco (above) and the Sesame Street Circus (below).

Owner and ringmaster Damian Syred called it the toughest period he’d seen in 19 years of the business as COVID restrictions meant 33 staff (which included 22 internationals) were unable to return home and most without access to JobKeeper.

To stay afloat, the circus sold some assets including a semi-trailer, two trucks and two caravans as well as relying on personal savings. A crowdfunding page was also set up to assist the stranded performers and charitable organisations stepped up to assist with groceries and sanitary items.

The group also did what most businesses had to do, pivot and adapt their offerings. The group took to selling the much-loved sweets and treats such as fairy floss, popcorn and Dagwood dogs from their on-site stand and even moved to local delivery during their hiatus.

In a recent group newsletter, Melbourne-based Circus Oz revealed they’d lost half of their annual income in a matter of weeks, coming very close to having to shut their doors forever. Their solution like many other businesses was to go into hibernation for the year. But they certainly didn’t stay quiet.

The year saw them launch a series of online workshops and classes and what they called ‘iso-tainment’, where industry colleagues and performers alike hosted online performances via platforms such as YouTube.

Wildhouse Circus’ Lannan too, found that using the time to re-invent was the best thing they could do to adapt, saying that while they could have optioned to promote filmed versions of their work online or sell merchandise, they instead focussed on developing a new touring model alongside their major work; BOSS SQUAD.

Lannan adds “the BOSS SQUAD Project is a community engagement project developed for young people with a focus on female empowerment. The BOSS SQUAD acrobats lead students through a series of workshops in circus skills, prop making and discussions of trust and consent, which circus is in a unique position to demonstrate.

“This project allows our staff to work with the next generation, for weeks at a time, with a performance outcome.”

With the support of Arts SA, the pilot edition of the project went ahead in early 2021 with the Circobats Community Circus Youth Troupe with much success and promise to move across Australia.

BOSS SQUAD returned to stage in March 2021, nearly a year to the day they had to cancel and rush home.

Lannan noted “Adelaide Fringe and Gluttony (fringe hub) specifically made taking the risk to return to a self-funded tour feel easy and like we were supported. Their new venue; The Lark, programmed only female-led works at a reduced hire fee to counteract the research emerging which tells us women are more negatively impacted by the pandemic than men.”

BOSS SQUAD sold-out performances and won the Best Circus Weekly Award for the second year in a row. A very successful season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lannan adds that the ability of the circus to bounce back will be reliant on access to training and performance venues and the public’s willingness to return as audience members. For venues to make them feel safe again, all of which directly affects the financial viability of touring and performing.

Likewise in April this year, the largely popular children’s circus, Sesame Street Circus Spectacular returned to performing following a hiatus. The show, which opened in Adelaide with new COVID-19 protocols in place, worked in close coordination with government agency guidelines to continue the much-loved show with their cast of international performers from Argentina, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Brazil, Morocco and more.

Keith Brown, managing director of Showtime Attractions and Sesame Street Circus Spectacular, advised “we’re absolutely delighted to be bringing this incredible show back to South Australian families this April, and can’t wait for the beloved Sesame Street characters to bring some much-needed smiles to little one’s faces.

“While we had to shut down the Sesame Street Circus Spectacular for 11 months, we are very excited to be back, bringing the circus to Sesame Street fans young and old across the country.

“There is no denying that the pandemic hit the industry hard. Our performers, who are from all over the world, were not eligible for JobKeeper or Government support. We were also not able to live stream performances, so we literally had to stop everything during the pandemic.

“We are now back at a limited seating capacity and are constantly monitoring the COVID situation and working closely with government agencies to ensure that the circus can remain up and running.

“We hope that the government does provide support to live performances at some stage because the industry is still suffering.

“We really do have a lineup of the most incredible circus stars and we hope Australian audiences will get out there and support the Sesame Street Circus in the coming months.” Gwen Luscombe is Director of the Ideas Library and a frequent contributor on tourism, business events, technology and hospitality.

Stardust Circus’ exotic animals are being retired, including Gigi the elephant (below). Exotic animals retired from the Circus

Failure to secure insurance sees Australia’s last circus with exotic animals move to retire its lions and monkeys

Australia’s ongoing insurance crisis has caused Stardust Circus, Australia’s last travelling circus with exotic animals, to move to retire its performing lions and monkeys.

While the circus will continue to feature ponies, goats and dogs in its performances, an inability to secure public liability insurance for its six lions and monkeys means the animals will be retired to an animal sanctuary.

Established in the early 1990s by the Lennon and West families - two circus families with tradition going back to the late 19th century, Stardust Circus tours the country from the remotest towns to capital cities from January to late November.

Impacted last year by Coronavirus lockdowns, the circus will continue with arts including tumblers, solo trapeze, acrobats, teeter board, aerial silks, cloud swing, flying trapeze and clowns.

Animal rights group PETA Australia has reported it is “jumping for joy” at the announcement, citing a 2020 YouGov survey that it funded which found that 75% of Australians wanted to see a ban on circuses using exotic animals.

However, Stardust Circus emphasises that it was insurance and not animal rights that drove their move, with owner Janice Lennon saying “like many showmen, we have had difficulty being able to secure insurance moving forward.

Advising “we tried everywhere (with) about half a dozen brokers”, Lennon advised that the Circus eventually secured coverage with Pen Underwriting.

However, the specialist insurance agency refused coverage for the exotic animals without explanation.

Commenting on this, Lennon noted “the silly thing is we’ve never had a claim with the lions or anything like any risk whatsoever.”

Last year, when addressing an inquiry into the exhibition of exotic animals in circuses and the exhibition of cetaceans (marine animals) in NSW, Lennon highlighted that retiring exotic animals from circuses to the different environment of a zoo may not be an ideal solution as these animal are used to regular contact with their trainers.

Lennon described the “heartbreaking” decision to retire the Circus’ two elephants - Arna and Gigi - to Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo in 2007.

Describing her regret at sending the animals away she advised “had we known the outcome, we would never have done that.”

Lennon said in the first few months Arna was at the Zoo she dropped as much as 300 kilograms and “just pined for the circus the whole time.”

Lennon said Arna had spent her days waiting by the gate, the last place she saw her former home, and when her family came to visit, both elephants came “flying down the hill, they were that excited to see us.”

While the elephants eventually began to settle at the Zoo, Lennon said when Arna died in 2012, aged 54, keepers could not find a specific cause of death.

Lennon told the inquiry “she eventually died and they said they couldn’t find a cause of death, and they said she died of a broken heart, and that was all they put it down to.”

Fearing action by animal rights activists, Lennon did not identify the zoo that the animals will be retired to.