2002 – 9 Ray Spencer the director of Customs House is also known as Tommy the Trumpeter. He performed at Tommy’s picnics for 20 years until 2013. The Customs House was part of the South Shields Council’s Artistic programme and through it various circus initiatives were delivered. In 2002/3 A circus club was started in… [Read More]
Dream State Circus
2004 – date Dream State Circus was founded in the NE in 2004 by husband and wife duo Sophie & Jacob McGrath when they changed their name from Fairy Fire. Sophie is form North Shields, Jacob from Australia, Their early performances took a street-focus and they used acro-balance, fire and juggling with spoken comedy. They… [Read More]
Philipe Petite
Philipe Petit, famous as the man who walked on a wire between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Centre (1974) visited Newcastle & Gateshead to plan a tight wire walk across the River Tyne from Newcastle Quayside to the Sage to mark it’s opening. He said “To me this is theatre in the… [Read More]
Fidget Feet
2005/7 Fidget Feet Aerial Dance were formed by Irish husband and wife team, Chantal McCormack & Jym Daly. Chantal trained at Dance City, before learning circus and aerial skills with Scarabeus in London. They returned to the North East and working closely with Customs House, South Shields. Fidget Feet developed their first aerial dance show… [Read More]
Cirque du Soleil
2007 to date Cirque du Soleil, from Canada has 19 shows touring world, but only one of each show at anytime. It has come to Newcastle with an Arena based show since c.2007, performing to a 4000 audience capacity. In 2013 they brought Alegria to The Newcastle Metro Radio Arena. They had 106 people on… [Read More]
Streets Of Durham Festival
2007 – date Streets of Durham was developed initially by Kate James from Visit Durham & Dream State Circus. The Festival Circus element was initially known as Streets of Play. When Dream State Circus moved to Australia, Steve Cousins of Let’s Circus took their place as programmers, working with Kate James and Alan Hillary Events…. [Read More]
Pheonix Aerial Club
2007 – date Phoenix Aerial Club. Based in Phoenix Martial Arts centre in the Ouseburn. It was founded in 2007 by Edd Muir, Vicki Carlin (Frayed Knot), Charlie Carpenter and Haylee May, and made necessary by the closing of The Buddle Arts Centre. Secured initially as a training space for professionals, it started to develop… [Read More]
Venues that also host circus – Newcastle & Gateshead
Since 2000 Dance City Although not a circus building, Dance City in Newcastle, has a crossover with Circus through aerial dance, and for the tendency for contemporary circus to fall in under dance as an associated art form. It has been the venue of several touring Aerial Dance productions, including shows by Fidget Feet and… [Read More]
Iain Jenkins
b. 1966 Ian Jenkins, from Hartlepool, was born in York in 1966. After an eventful life traveling around the UK and world as a zoologist, teacher, social worker & RAF Officer he succumbed to stress & depression. Fighting back in 1994 he turned to magic, illusion and mentalism. Iain specialises in dark story telling. During… [Read More]
Joe May
b. 1967 Born in London in 1967, Joe May, stage names Joseph d’Amour Buffon and Jeremy Farquhar is a very bendy clown, juggler and slack-rope walker. He went to Theatre Jacques Lecoq in France and trained clown and he is a professional Teacher. He has performed at many local festivals with Let’s Circus, at the… [Read More]
