The Stage

Exclusive: Gerry Cottle to return with new touring show

Published Thursday 10 December 2009 at 13:50 by Lalayn Baluch

Gerry Cottle is to launch his first full-scale touring show since 1993, in a move that will mark the 50th year since he ran away from home to join the circus.

The production, which will feature a cast of 30 performers from 11 different countries, is set to open on March 17 and will initially tour the West Country before travelling to London and then the rest of the UK.

Speaking to The Stage, the impresario said that the production would feature flying trapeze artists, contortionists and comedians, as well a troupe of eight Las Vegas-style showgirls.

He said the show would also place a strong focus on magic and illusion acts, but would not feature any live animals.

Cottle said he was launching the show because he missed circus and the competition within the industry, and hopes that the production will open up employment opportunities for children who have trained at his circus school. He added: “It will be a very lively, upbeat show and it will be hard work. We are family entertainment and are good-value family entertainment - circus has been around for a long time - nearly 250 years - and people still want a good circus.

“If I don’t do it now, while I’ve still got my energy and health, I will never do it.”

Cottle has hired a farm near Glastonbury, where the production is being prepared. He said the tour is expected to cost about £500,000.

To help raise cash for the venture, Cottle is selling a 1932 circus painting called the Grande Parade by Edward Seago. The painting will be auctioned off at Christie’s on December 16 and is estimated to go for £100,000-£150,000.

Cottle ran away to join the circus at the age of 15 and was initially a stage hand and later a clown. He established his world-renowned Gerry Cottle Circus in 1974 and went on to travel across the globe, performing from Oman to Hong Kong. At its peak, the company hosted the BBC1 show Seaside Special, as well as the Circus World Championships.

Along with his business partner Brian Austen, he also produced tours for the Moscow State Circus and Chinese State Circus. Cottle purchased tourist attraction Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset six years ago, where he runs his circus school and is currently building a hotel.

In summer 2007, Cottle presented a circus and variety show WOW! at the Palace Theatre in Paignton and, earlier this year, he produced a tour of African dance musical Zambezi Express.