{"id":19940,"date":"2021-12-10T16:02:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T15:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=19940"},"modified":"2021-12-10T16:02:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T15:02:09","slug":"tumble-circus-ken-fanning-promises-daring-skills-comedy-and-theatre-at-this-years-winter-circus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2021\/12\/tumble-circus-ken-fanning-promises-daring-skills-comedy-and-theatre-at-this-years-winter-circus\/","title":{"rendered":"Tumble Circus\u2019 Ken Fanning Promises \u201cdaring skills, comedy and theatre\u201d at this year\u2019s Winter Circus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Ken Fanning of Tumble Circus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Deep in the heart of Cathedral Quarter the big top is about to be hoisted aloft and a dazzling array of circus skills, comedy and theatre are in the final throes of preparations for Tumble Circus Christmas show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As performers put the final touches to the extravaganza in Belfast\u2019s Writers\u2019 Square co-founder of the troupe, Ken Fanning delved into the history of Tumble Circus and what audiences can expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running from December 17 to January 3 the all-human performances combines acrobats, aerial artists, jugglers in an hour-long fun-filled show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone described it as the Irish Circus Soleil hit by a bus,\u201d explained Ken, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s not like normal circus. But it is. It\u2019s like Belfast-inspired circus. It is circus made in Belfast for Belfast people. It\u2019s a bit of craic. Noisy with lots of skills, comedy, beautiful bits, and a bit of poetry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For anyone unsure if the circus is right for them Ken said one comment sticks in his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA father coming out of the show with his kids came up to me and said \u2018I didn\u2019t want to come but my wife made me buy tickets and take the kids. Thought I was going to hate it but it\u2019s the best thing I\u2019ve been at since Metallica\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ken\u2019s journey to become a skilled circus performer began on Spain\u2019s back streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was kidnapped by a bunch of English circus performers in Spain and kept in an orange orchard near Valencia,\u201d he joked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was 19, I was travelling around Spain and happened to go down a side street and watched two guys juggling doing a show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey offered me and my friend somewhere to stay for the night and they were living in an orange orchard. There were a bunch of circus performers living in vans in this orchard and we just stayed and started learning circus tricks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running low on money, Ken returned to Ireland and began busking in Dublin, where he met and worked with others doing circus. There he met Tumble Circus co-founder Tina Segner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was in Grafton Street and noticed that Tina had three juggling clubs,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had my clubs so I stopped her and asked her if she\u2019d like to juggle. We went round the corner and we started passing juggling clubs to each other. That\u2019s how we met. Within five minutes of meeting we were doing circus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From that initial meeting they travelled to Australia to join a circus before attending an adult circus school in Bristol. But their decision to set up in Belfast after working in Dublin was due to property prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were living in a garage in South Circular Road in Dublin with a mattress on the floor,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe came to Belfast for a show and realised we could actually rent a house with a garden for the price of the garage in Dublin. And, there was a whole circus community that was active and really fun, so we stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ken believes that circus has a universal appeal with people doing skills or falling over on their faces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople love it,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always interesting to go places where people don\u2019t usually see that entertainment. They don\u2019t know how to behave and they\u2019re just wowed by it. Especially the Youtube generation. They\u2019re numbed by the stuff they see. When it\u2019s in their faces and live it\u2019s a whole different experience and that\u2019s great to give people. People feel like they\u2019ve seen everything, but when you put it in front of them and they actually see stuff in front of them, they become alive and they experience the fun and joy of it all \u2013 the sensation of \u2018they\u2019re going to die\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have a real experience. It’s great to watch people. It\u2019s like they wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the heated Big Top going up in Writers\u2019 Square Tumble Circus will be performing every day, except Christmas Day throughout the run with 11 of the days presenting two shows, with nine performers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ken the growth of audiences and the number of performers is a justification of what Tumble Circus is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has moved away from just being a form of entertainment for kids in a field outside of town,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s still some of the perception in Ireland. But in France and other countries circus has been an art form for some time and is taken seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have big productions that take eight months to stage. In Ireland it\u2019s different although I think it has changed somewhat. I think there\u2019s an emerging art form to become mainstream across the island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in the mid-90s Tumble Circus has an impressive set of credentials having headlined Glastonbury Festival\u2019s Circus Big Top, played at Edinburgh Fringe, Perth Fringe World and Adelaide Fringe Festival. They have been seen in Norway, Iceland, Canada, Australia and many other countries. We have toured our big top shows all over Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous Winter Circus show in Belfast has become a yearly fixture and sell out. Their circus films are watched by thousands worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The genesis of the Winter Circus came about at a time when most performers were getting good work over the festive season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were busy touring internationally and Christmas was always a busy time where we got booked for gigs and got paid well\u201d said Ken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne year we just thought we had to try this at least once and just put it on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a whole circus culture alive here and we wanted to celebrate that by putting on performances and giving performers the opportunity to perform here in front of Belfast audiences and do our unique kind of Belfast circus for people and hope it makes money.
\u201cIt worked the first year and we did it ourselves. That\u2019s the kernel of it but we just wanted to perform in Belfast. It meant we could stop touring as much and be able to do circus in Belfast and make an income from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And amidst the merry mayhem the soundtrack is very much themed around Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusic is very important,\u201d Ken said. \u201cI\u2019m always trying to pick up music that goes with the acts with some local music to try and get some Belfast tunes in or bands from Ireland.  The likes of The Undertones and songs that kind of alternative scenes. You get a good soundtrack that people like to listen to with the performances with tunes that people recognise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ken, whilst settled in Belfast, he feels he now has responsibility and freedom, despite having had a rocky time as a youngster that forced him to leave Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel very privileged that I get to do circus and I make a living out of it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel a sense of responsibility about doing that which means I work at it. I find opportunities for the company and the people who work for us. I feel that responsibility which makes me less free in some ways but I feel creatively free. I can say the things I want to and the things I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter Circus is supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland and Destination CQ BID.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets are \u00a39-\u00a314 + booking fee and available from <\/em><\/strong>wegottickets.com\/JossersBigTop<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, or for more information go to <\/em><\/strong>tumblecircus.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family tickets are also available and group bookings (10+) can be booked by emailing <\/em><\/strong>bookings@tumblecircus.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

View the Winter Circus Covid-19 policy at<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/www.tumblecircus.com\/winter-circus-show\/#covid-19-guidelines<\/em><\/strong><\/a> <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deep in the heart of Cathedral Quarter the big top is about to be hoisted aloft and a dazzling array of circus skills, comedy and theatre are in the final throes of preparations for Tumble Circus Christmas show. As performers put the final touches to the extravaganza in Belfast\u2019s Writers\u2019 Square co-founder of the troupe, … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19940"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19940"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19942,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19940\/revisions\/19942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}