Circus Evolution: Propelling top acts around the world

Creative producer Crying Out Loud has spent 15 years crossing borders with high-quality visual performance, presenting international artists to UK venues and creating development networks in Europe and beyond. A large proportion of its artists work in post-classical circus, and the Arts Council England national portfolio organisation has been instrumental in nurturing audiences and venues for this type of work.

Founder and artistic director Rachel Clare worked in the 1980s as a tour booker for Ra-Ra Zoo, one of the first British companies to expand beyond traditional expectations of circus. Today, she is still focused on cultivating a public understanding and appreciation of the evolving genre.

“After initial interest in the work Crying Out Loud was touring, we noticed that circus audiences had begun flatlining,” Clare explains. “The Circus Evolution project was launched to bring new audiences to new venues. A report we commissioned from the Audience Agency established that we needed to change the way we talk about these productions to resonate with the British public.”

Circus Evolution is a three-phase project that began in 2013 with a strategic touring grant from the Arts Council, allowing nine partner venues to receive promotional and marketing support to host specially selected circus-based productions. Over three years, these regional venues were able to offer their audiences prestigious visits from three international and two top British companies. The evaluation report confirmed that people who first visited the venue for a Circus Evolution production consequently returned to see other shows, giving value above and beyond that to the immediate circus industry.

The second, year-long phase of the project is underway now, bringing two new venues to the partnership and a menu of four more shows. The final phase, subject to funding, is hoped to run from 2018 to 2020.

Currently touring is Race Horse Company from Finland. The company’s second full-length production, Super Sunday, headlined at the Roundhouse CircusFest in London last year, and now the strategic touring fund behind Circus Evolution is allowing venues outside the capital to present the show to regional audiences.

The company’s production manager Simon Byford visits each venue in advance with technical manager Antti Sairanen to decide which elements of the show need adjusting to fit the different performance spaces. If a venue cannot accommodate the full equipment build, a modified version is offered in its place. In some cases, smaller venues have opted to take the company’s two-person children’s show Around instead.

Rauli Kosonen, performer and co-founder of Race Horse Company, emphasises that the problems of promoting modern circus-based work are not restricted to the UK.

“There is a problem with labelling. It’s a human problem; we want to see something based on the expectation of the label. It’s a marketing problem with the variation of circus now. How does public perception of the circus label catch up with the realities of work being made?”

Since the launch of Circus Evolution, however, Clare says her organisation has seen positive changes from partner venues as understanding of new circus forms increases and the confidence to programme them grows. Jackie Friend, marketing and audience development manager for Crying Out Loud, delivers web-based training to the venues’ own communications teams, sharing effective ways to target potential audiences for the work in their region.

The Circus Evolution concept was inspired by Territoires de Cirque, an association formed in 2004 of almost 40 organisations that support the creation, presentation and dissemination of circus across France. The network builds from earlier Crying Out Loud initiatives that have paved a path towards recognition for circus arts around the UK.

In 2009, the producers headed up City Circ, which brought together a core group of six London venues that now promote circus work and share expertise in the capital. The next year, Pass Circus Channel was established to introduce work between north-western France and southern England. Six participating British companies were invited to develop their projects in residencies across the Channel, while French companies were hosted across four UK organisations. Two of these, Lighthouse arts centre in Poole and SeaChange Arts in Great Yarmouth, went on to form part of the Circus Evolution consortium.

While it is becoming increasingly common to see circus programmed into UK venues, the growing numbers of artists from the UK who are creating new work are rarely seen internationally.

Continues…

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5 things you need to know about programming circus

1. Inside the arts industry the perception of what circus can be is changing, but the wider public often has narrower preconceptions. Managing audience expectations is key to a successful run.

2. Unlike other countries, the UK has no independent advocacy organisation for the circus industry yet, so approach producers directly for advice.

3. Circus Evolution venues have developed particular expertise in presenting and promoting circus to their audiences. They are: the Civic (Barnsley); Deda (Derby); the Hat Factory (Luton); Lawrence Batley Theatre (Huddersfield); Lighthouse (Poole); the Lowry (Salford); Oxford Playhouse; Pontio (Bangor) and Warwick Arts Centre, plus SeaChange Arts in Great Yarmouth and New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, who partnered the first phase of the project.

4. In London, the core venues of the City Circ network are: the Albany, Artsdepot, Jacksons Lane, National Centre for Circus Arts, Roundhouse and Stratford Circus Arts Centre.

5. Circus festivals come in two kinds. One showcases individual acts that can be employed within a classical circus format, one presents full-length productions that tour independently. If you are considering a visit to scout for talent, make sure you choose an event that suits your needs.

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Prior to its UK tour, Race Horse Company most recently performed Super Sunday at the world’s largest circus festival, the Biennale Internationale des Arts du Cirque in Marseille. Out of 63 productions from 14 countries, only Block, a collaboration between NoFit State Circus and Motionhouse dance, represented Britain.

“As a UK company, it’s very hard to compete on an international level,” explains Tom Rack, artistic director of NoFit State. “A lot of our ‘competitors’ come from places like Australia, France, Quebec or Scandinavia, where governments or arts funding bodies more actively support cultural exports and can offer partnerships or subsidies to presenters. It’s often the travel costs that are prohibitive to us; moving around the world can be very expensive and any time in transit is time where we don’t earn.”

A further worry is the potential border challenges that may arise following Brexit negotiations and, if British companies can no longer access European funding, then international exchange will be limited yet again. Aside from the immediate economic impact, the reduction in networking opportunities could seriously harm the industry.

This year, in partnership with NoFit State, Crying Out Loud has launched Spotlight UK Circus, which will give a leg up to home-grown circus companies trying to emerge on to the global scene by introducing them to international markets.

A total of 55 companies applied for the initial round, which will provide selected artists with mentoring support and the opportunity to present at Circa Festival du Cirque Actuel in France or Subcase Subtopia Circus Fair in Sweden. Both are important showcases for international producers and will extend possibilities for UK artists to be hired globally.

“By exposing companies and artists to these events, they will better understand the needs of the international market and what their place could be within it. Building networks and contacts takes time, but this Spotlight project should help those companies fast-track their way in,” says Rack.

Clare adds: “The success of the project will be measured by how many contracts are offered. We will be monitoring enquiries and actual bookings.”

Applications open again later this year for a further showcase opportunity at Festival Off in Avignon in 2018. The three partner festivals draw different crowds and the project aims to balance the selected productions to maximise exposure for UK circus, although it is the festival directors who will choose the final winners from a shortlist.

“It’s almost impossible to say there is a unifying style and identity to British circus,” says Rack, “but in general we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Fun, humour and self-irony are important and I think the British do this very well.”

Kosonen thinks this might be the reason Super Sunday has been so well received in the UK. “In common with the British is the Finnish black humour – not farting and strong language like the US, but laughing at things that are unlaughable.”

Clare is determined that, whatever barriers Brexit might throw up, Crying Out Loud will find ways of defeating them and continue to cross-pollinate our circus culture across international stages.

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Profile: Crying Out Loud

Artistic director: Rachel Clare
Founded: 2002
Number of performances: In the last five years, 2,498 performances of 64 different shows have been presented to 339,551 people (including the major outdoor event Piccadilly Circus Circus in 2012, which was seen by 250,000 over one weekend)
Number of projects: More than 100 projects since the company began
Number of employees: Two full-time, three part-time, plus regular collaboration with freelance contributors
Turnover: £628,725, averaged over the last five years
Funding levels: 2015/16 – 28% earned income, 34% funds raised for specific projects and 38% Arts Council England core funding
Key contacts: 020 7650 7954; Axel Satge (touring manager) axel@cryingoutloud.org, Jackie Friend (marketing and audience development manager) jackie@cryingoutloud.org, Sarah Macnee (executive director) sarah@cryingoutloud.org
Website: cryingoutloud.org

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Race Horse Company will perform Super Sunday as part of the Circus Evolution strategic touring scheme from April 20-June 3

Part of The Stage special edition focussing on circus. For more circus coverage click here