The Stage

Circus performer to contest election over Licensing Act

Published Tuesday 26 April 2005 at 11:35 by Jeremy Austin

Circus Ricardo star Justin Appleyard - alias Justo the Clown - is standing as an independent parliamentary candidate in the marginal seat of North Norfolk in an attempt to highlight what he see as the serious threat the Licensing Act poses to the travelling entertainment.

His company is facing the choice of closing down once the law comes into effect in November or attempting to operate without applying for the £450 licence needed every time it sets up camp. The latter carries the threat of a heavy fine or imprisonment. The seat is held by Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb with a majority of only 483.

Appleyard’s brother, Rupert, said that already the interactive show by the circus - which serves schools and rural communities not normally visited by such entertainment - has helped highlight the threat their group and others of its size are facing. Members of the audience have been encouraged to vote by taking part in a poll during the themed show.

He said: “It is very high risk for us. Mixing politics with circus is a very dangerous game. But we have no choice. We are fighting hard for survival. All the big circuses started out as small circuses and that’s the crazy, crazy thing. There has been no allowances made for anyone.”

Up until now circuses have been able to able to pitch without applying for a licence from the local authority or paying money to it. Under the new legislation, any circus, no matter what its size, must spend £450 on a licence for every location it visits. That can equate to a week’s profit for the smaller businesses.

Appleyard said the problems circuses will face in the future were highlighted recently when ground his company was due to visit became waterlogged and unavailable. Had the Licensing Act been in force, he argued, Circus Ricardo, which can hold 450 people, would have wasted £450 on the licence to perform there.