Chapter 213: Lucy Leaves London

I left London last week, a decade of family life boxed into three storage containers, and I am now living out of a single suitcase. Thinking of James Thierrée* I half expect the suitcase to sprout legs and run off. No wifi, one bar of reception on the mobile, if we're lucky, and we are not sure of our date yet to set sail, but it is full steam ahead with preparations.

For many years, my husband and I have talked about sailing round the world and it is a love of boats that brought us together. We both rowed at university, the same position it turned out (Bow 3, The Powerhouse), we met years later at The Boat Race, and our honeymoon was spent sailing round the Caribbean, just the two of us. Since then life intervened and I have followed a crazy career path. Who could predict that, after working for five years as a chartered accountant and charities auditor at a Yanquee Imperialist Firm (Andersens - brought down by a few clowns at Enron), I would move a few doors down from their offices on The Strand to Kings College London to carry on with post-graduate research into the Marxist critical theory at play in contemporary Cuban theatre. The irony was not lost on me, nor on the still-suited partners (now part of Deloitte's) who I would bump into in the equidistant common ground of Caffè Nero, now clad in my jeans and trainers.  And, in a further twist, to go from academia to juggling three children and part-time work to fund this full-time circus passion has been a real learning curve.  

Still, nothing has quite prepared me for the rollercoaster of the past few months. A romantic dream to sail round the world with my family some time in the future is an altogether different proposition to "right, it's now or never" that has come to its climax over the past few weeks. I say nothing has prepared me, when actually there was something. Lunch with Sean Kempton one day after Shhh! circus cabaret, where he sat me down and talked through each one of my fears and reservations, playing devil's adddvocate in a way that only a clown can. A clown who has travelled the world and a fellow parent. It struck me then that being part of the circus ecosystem has been invaluable, and maybe the best preparation of all. There is the intuitive understanding of how travel broadens the mind and makes the whole world Kin, and thanks to social media I feel part of a wider international community, with friends there to welcome us virtually in any port in the world. Writing this blog I have developed a strong sense of self too: "word painter" is how Thom Monckton described me. I like that. And the past few years of aerial training has well-equipped me for the heave-ho of ropes and clambering up masts, both in terms of developing upper body strength and a head for heights. 

Still, it is a strange sensation to leave London, a city I love above all others, and which I know so intimately, appreciating it from so many different perspectives. In fact, it is love for London and the people in it that inspired the name of this blog. Knowing I would one day leave, for years I have been steeling myself, and set up a private Instagram account called LucyLovesLondon, a scrapbook of family moments and friendship that I could look back on and smile. So when I started this circus diary, LucyLovesCircus seemed a logical choice. Love for me is not a saccharine-sweet endorsement that LucyLovesEverything. Love is an act of resistance, a statement of intention to carve out a positive space in the world. Love gives the artist courage to step out in the sawdust arena and bare their soul. Love engages. Love dares. Love risks. Love is the endgame. And Circus is a Ring of Love. Infinite. Diverse. Inclusive. So this is not the end of the blog, nor of my circus adventures, but the pace will slow down now, probably to about 5 knots an hour. Bear with with me, and I'll be sure to keep you posted, as and when I can. After an afternoon running away off to the circus (see post), now yours, in nofit state to set sail, Lucy.

*When James Thierrée brought The Toad Knew to Sadlers Wells in May, he talked afterwards about how, as part of his parents' Cirque Imaginaire, he and his sister would be carried on stage by their father, each in a suitcase, then when plonked on the ground, they would pop out their legs through holes in the bottom and run away.

Chapter 212: Bassline Circus: FLIP

AndroidX in FLIP
All photos & videography courtesy of Bassline Circus

"Luce, are you coming up to Jacksons Lane to see Bassline Circus today?" I hadn't planned on it. Home alone packing up the house on a very tight deadline, the fact that it was Transmission season was not really on my radar. But it was Leonor from Two Tongue Theatre (see Boys Club - click here) asking, and I wanted to catch up and say goodbye. And I do love the whole concept of Transmission, a circus residency programme run by Jacksons Lane giving at least a week to up to six companies a year to experiment with and develop ideas with full technical support from the theatre. There is no pressure to deliver a finished project at the end, the companies are simply invited to share where they are at and a questions and answers session generally follows. It is always super interesting to see the play and potential. Going to Transmission with three kids in tow though. How would that work?! Well, we could always discreetly slip into the back row... 

"Mum, what are we going to see?" Well, kids, we are off to see a vectorised circus concert... I didn't reply. In fact, I wasn't quite sure myself what to expect. What the FLIP?! A blend of hiphop dance, circus and graphics, it sounded like festival fun, a bit trippy. Still, nothing quite prepared me. 

Back in the foyer at Jacksons Lane, meeting up with Leonor after Postcards Festival was a funny feeling. Boys Club had been part of Postcards as well. The big top of bunting in the foyer was still up, and my son was chuffed to recognise Simple Cypher lads Kieran & Chris on a poster after seeing them there last time for Cypher Stories (click here). But the chalk board now had the Autumn programme up. We went in. Encouraged by one of the ushers, my 5 year old marched straight to the front row. I do trust my kids to behave, I reflected, while confiscating any potential noise disrupters (like crisp packets!).

Director Bex Anson introduced FLIP. Today we would see excerpts with a couple of the dancers: the Krumper AndroidX, and Flexer Kaner Flex for this sharing. In future there will be a handbalancer and the vocals of singer songwriter and emcee Eva Lazarus (see www.evalazarus.com). FLIP is an interpretation of Mathieus Malzieu's story of "The Boy With a Cuckoo-Clock Heart", transplanting the story into a boy with a pace-maker - a neat complementarity there with the robotic elements of hiphop movement - who falls in love on-line and enters a world that questions perceptions of reality, exploring impossible worlds. What followed was an awesome blend of krumping (dance), tutting (hand movements) and flexing (contortion that gave the piece a circus stamp) against a backdrop onto which all sorts of graphics were projected and vectorised by Dav Bernard. The sharing was in two scenes. In the first "dimension" the graphics followed the movement of the dancers, who literally emanated energy. It was as though we could see the mind at play on the screen behind, a running narrative of the dancer's psyche. And I was not surprised afterwards to hear the dancers appreciated the organic dynamics of having what they intuitively realise and visualise when they move choreographed on the screen behind them. 

FLIPreactive extract from Bassline Circus on Vimeo.

In the second the dancers stepped behind the screen and their shadows played into world of virtual reality, responding to a maze of scenarios that was completely mesmerising and pulled us as an audience onto a rollercoaster of an experience with them. It was clever, being drawn into the perspective of the protagonist, disorientated, searching, negotiating all manner of visual paradoxes, while for the kids it was like stepping into a computer game themselves. It will be interesting to see how these two parts, in essence fairly abstract still, will be propelled by the narrative going forward. 

FLIPshadows extract from Bassline Circus on Vimeo.

Afterwards in the Q&A session with Adrian Berry, Artistic Director of Jacksons Lane, my 9yo whispered that the dance moves had reminded her of Jungle Book (Metta Theatre's production: click here), and I was glad to hear that Bassline Circus will be exploring relaxed viewings for families going forward, as my kids thought it was utterly brilliant. I would also like to see it again in full "concert" mode, interested to hear the plans to include live vocals and fully immerse the audience, getting them on their feet just like mine wanted to. The fusion of dance, circus and visual arts that I saw has already created a unique experience that synergised, as well as energised, the audience. Going forward it will be exciting to see how this experience expands: as it stands it was mind-bending and virtually life-affirming. 

Check out Bassline Circus www.basslinecircus.org on social media @BasslineCircus for news of further developments. Next stop in Autumn: Stratford Circus. 

Chapter 210: Postcards Festival Finale... Shhh!

"Find out what the rules are... and then break them!"
Michaela O'Connor and Sean Kempton
All photos unless otherwise credited: Liam Croucher (www.liamcroucher.co.uk)

Every so often in life a night will come along that takes me completely by surprise, and that's what happened on the last night of the Postcards Festival at Jacksons Lane watching genius clowning at play in a cabaret where every single act had all of us in the audience gasping at the sheer talent, audacity and risk. Humbug! I can hear people say. You curated the show. Of course you'd say that! Well yes. Barnum has been the soundtrack of my circus journey since the very beginning. I love both the honky-tonk musical and the character of the circus impresario who brought the colours of his life to a world fixed in black and white. As with Barnum, I sing out, because these guys are worth it. I am very grateful for the illuminating photography of National Circus graduate Liam Croucher (see www.liamcroucher.co.uk), that speak volumes about the artists involved where my words fail.

ROUND ONE

Darkness. The music cranked up - Do you wanna funk? - and the spotlight fell on Sean Kempton and Michaela O'Connor centre stage in white shirts, gold lamé leggings, and a slash of red. 

Photo: Giusi Tomasello

Jessica and Jair Ramirez were the first act. Jair came on with a broom and carrying a mannequin over his shoulder which came to live and led into a deeply romantic acrobalance routine.  The poise and precision, undercut by the tension in the positions, brought the story to life as much as the mannequin.

The mantle of the broom was picked up by Michael Standen, gazing after Jair, holding it tight. Hands materialized seductively around his body, and then shoved him off as Soulnia took the stage to "Give me a reason to love". A Portishead temptress with hoops set on fire in all sorts of articulations, she swallowed a ring only to rethread it through her neck onto a chain.

Michael returned with his own hoop, through which he did all manner of contortions. Set to the xylophone music bubbling out Chopin in C, it was both a hilarious and kooky act in contrast to the studied depth and brooding beauty of Sophie Page Hall and Will Davis' aerial tango set to Piazolla's Libertango. 

Argentine melodies continued as audience members were roped onto being on stage, teased on with a tango dance then literally tied into position as one of four corners of a square. Down the stairs, making her entrance in a burlesque of boxing, came Betty Bedlam in a red satin robe with her name emblazoned in gold on the back. It was a class act, the very essence of "burlare", from where burlesque derives, which is to poke fun, and she did that by teasing out the audience. A burlesque act needs to have a hook, and as a boxer as well as performer, Betty Bedlam certainly had one, knocking out squats and press-ups with gusto, and delivering up fierce sass on her own terms, she was a bonafide circus strongwoman with real punch.

ROUND 2

The second act opened in overdrive with Sean and Michaela clowning around with the audience again.

Jair's high-octane act on aerial straps powered home. Tension built as he gracefully wound up and up into the straps only to jerk into a sudden drop, suspended by just one foot. 

Michael Standen came back, but, as Ade Berry observed later, this was "Michael as we've never seen him before" in a blonde Cleopatra-cut wig, nude leotard and shorts, he performed extraordinary feats of gymnastics and handstands on canes in a Sia tribute act, as his svelte frame took on the impersonal robotics and androgynous hue of the child model in the Chandelier video, poles apart from Jessica's fully fledged female mannequin. This was cabaret with an agender.

Soulnia cast a spell this time with mind-reading tricks.

Sam Goodburn, whose solo show you can catch at the Edinburgh Fringe at the moment (click here for post on Dumbstruck ) zoomed around on his unicycle in Top Gear, and to that style of anthem, whipping off clothes, putting them back on, and making the audience crack up. Things went wrong, but were recovered in such a way you could never quite be certain whether by design or by accident - as if to prove that point the smiley face on the back of his boxers would flip down to a sad face emoji in an instant. Ha! The video below says it all:

For the grand finale it had to be Beyoncé, with Michaela O'Connor mixing her original triples trapeze act from Vegas (click here for video) with Single Ladies Will Davis and Sophie Page Hall. To be honest, with a track like that they could have got away with simply standing on the trapeze and throwing in a few diva gestures, but with two aerialists who had been involved in a Guinness World Record Breaking Challenge and one Circus Maximus Winner, they brought the house down. 

Thanks to Adrian Berry and all Jacksons Lane, and to this cast of circus heroes who gave it their all and rocked it: Sean and Michaela, Jess, Jair, Sonia, Michael, Sophie, Will, Betty Bedlam and Sam it has been so much fun off and on the stage with you (even when I least expected it!), ENCORE!!!

Thanks for the feedback!

Rhia O'Reilly @rdpixie Jul 30

@Lucylovescircus awesome show last night! You curated an eclectic bunch of talented wonders!

A Girl & Her Passport @agirlpassport Jul 30

This was amazing last night! I highly recommend.

Luciano Rila  @DrTrapezio Jul 30

@Lucylovescircus Thanks for putting together such a fantastic show 

Leslie Tate  @LSTateAuthor Aug 11  
@Lucylovescircus A fantastic show. Thank you, Lucy!

We've just checked out the Autumn programme now. If that's the quality, Jacksons Lane is the new Sadlers Wells for us!

Jacksons Lane @jacksons_lane Jul 31

Great times at glorious Shhh! Cabaret on Saturday, which closed our 3-week extravaganza of circus, cabaret & lots of fun #Postcards2017

*Ade Berry @Ade_Berry 1 h*

Replying to @Lucylovescircus @jacksons_lane

Same time, same place next year please! But don't quote me on that... 

*Allegedly.