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Giffords Circus

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Giffords Circus is a traditional English circus that tours the Cotswolds every summer.[1] As of 2022 it is also performing at Chiswick House.[1]

History

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Established in 2000, Giffords Circus is a small circus company, founded by Nell Gifford and her husband Toti Gifford,[2] that tours market towns of the Southwest.

Nell Gifford was involved with reshaping her circus to meet modern tastes. She was awarded a £10,000 grant and that enabled more people to be involved with producing a show. Barry Grantham was involved with the choreography. Three important women who assisted were the horsewoman Rebecca Townsend, the trapeze artist Emily Park on the trapeze and the aerialist Isabelle Woywode. In the following year Giffords Circus had their first themed show titled "Pearl".[3]

Nell Gifford died in 2019. The circus was later managed by her niece Lil Rice.[4][5] and has been directed for many years by Cal McCrystal.[6]

Performers come from many different countries, but one regular is Tweedy the Clown[7] (Alan Digweed) who joined in 2004.[3] He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2023 New Year Honours list.[8][9]

Tours

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  • 2004: "Pearl"
  • 2006: "Joplin": with a 1960s theme
  • 2008: "Caravan": set in a horse fair around 1900
  • 2010: "Yasmine": inspired by the life of equestrienne Yasmine Smart, who played herself in the production
  • 2011: "War and Peace": themed around Napoleon's disastrous intrusion into Russia, seen through the eyes of a Russian aristocratic family
  • 2012: "The Saturday Book"
  • 2013: "Lucky 13": based on the culture clash resulting from a high art opera- and ballet-themed circus show that is gatecrashed by a rowdy Transylvanian travelling circus[10][11]
  • 2014: "The Thunders": with the Greek Gods as its theme
  • 2015: "Moon Songs": blending cultural images of the moon with the story of two young Ethiopian jugglers dreaming of fame
  • 2016: "The Painted Wagon": centred on a group of 19th-century American homesteaders[12][13][14]
  • 2017: "Any Port in a Storm": with maritime themes, and telling the story of the circus visiting the 17th-century Spanish court[15]
  • 2018: "My Beautiful Circus": celebrating 250 years of the invention of the circus as an art form[16]
  • 2019: "Xanadu": with a 1960s hippy "Summer of Love" theme[17]
  • 2020: "The Feast": a non-touring show due to the COVID-19 pandemic[4]
  • 2021: "The Hooley" was an Irish dance themed show.[4]
  • 2022: "Carpa" had a Mexican theme.[18]
  • 2023: "Les Enfants Du Paradis".[19][20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Home". Giffords Circus. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ Hughes, Tim (14 June 2018). "Giffords Circus comes to Oxford with all new show". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b Holmes, Kate (13 April 2023), "Gifford [née Stroud], Eleanor Rose [Nell] (1973–2019), circus founder and author", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000380871, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 2 September 2023
  4. ^ a b c Howell, Madeleine (17 August 2020). "Is it curtains for Britain's touring shows and funfairs – or will they bounce back?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ Allfree, Claire (25 May 2021). "Mud, sequins, and a flock of white doves: the return of Giffords circus". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  6. ^ Gadd, Helen (30 March 2022). "Giffords Circus' Tweedy is back as a new tour with Gloucestershire's favourite circus begins". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Who is the real Tweedy clown". 17 December 2021.
  8. ^ "The New Year Honours list 2023". Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  9. ^ Lawson, Emma (31 December 2022). "Circus clown 'surprised' at royal honour". The Independent. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Giffords Circus - the Show 2011". Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  11. ^ Giffords Program 2013
  12. ^ Pilston, Tom (26 June 2016). "The Painted Wagon Wild West Show – in pictures". The Guardian.
  13. ^ MacAlister, Katherine (16 June 2016). "Giffords is back. But is The Painted Wagon it's [sic] best show yet?". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  14. ^ "A Review of the Wondeful Giffords Circus, Gloucestershire". Lewis Loves. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  15. ^ Sutherland, Gill (12 June 2017). "Review: Giffords Circus 2017". Stratford-upon-Avon Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  16. ^ Singleton, Sarah (3 September 2018). "My Beautiful Circus: the music and magic of Giffords". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  17. ^ Billington, Michael (2 July 2019). "Xanadu review – psychedelic circus evokes summer of love". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  18. ^ Dannreuther, Rupert (14 April 2022). "¡Carpa! by Giffords Circus – Review". to do list. London. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  19. ^ Wood, Alex (10 January 2023). "Giffords Circus announces new tour for 2023". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  20. ^ Pizzey, Simon (18 April 2023). "Review: tangible magic that's worth every penny – and no safety net!". Stroud Times. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
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