John Lawson's Circus, Charlbury (soon: Bicester 18-20, Didcot 22-24)
In an age when animal acts have vanished, John Lawson's prize-winning circus offers an intimate view of what a modern circus can do. It has charm, wit and a certain eccentricity mostly tied up in the master of ceremonies, Madam Vonni De Reszke, John Lawson's widow, who presides from one side of the ring, cross-legged on a plastic chair, with a slightly detatched air, interjecting the occasional dry comment during acts. I must confess that I found her fascinating, not only because she reminded me of my Derbyshire mother, but also because she has the grace and intelligence to let the circus acts, which she has presumably booked, speak for themselves, and they do.
Do not be afraid of its size: small is definitely beautiful here, and it is fun to buy a flag from a Welshman who 40 minutes later will be hanging over your head, flying on a rope, literally bouncing against the tent roof. There are clowns; a French couple called the Duo Delbosq, making the most out of audience participation, and I watched their acts with terror that any moment I would be called into the ring to perform. Some of their tricks were genuinely very funny, and the business with the audience was inspired and relaxed. There are equestrian artists called Tim and Adolph Delbosq touring with other circuses on the continent and in the States, so I assume the Delbosq clowns come from the same circus family. It's good to know that the tradition is being kept alive and still passed from generation to generation!
A number of aerial acts were punctuated by performances from Andrea (with hula hoops), Claire Marie (balancing a laid-table on her head while ascending and descending a ladder) and the Nevadas (knife-throwing). I was looking forward to Attila on a monocycle, but he was not in the line-up the evening I went, and neither was Xena, the "princess of balance". Derek Masters, a comedy chef, did a rather elaborate routine with plate-spinning, but was really no match for an act the Lawson's had some time ago, a couple called Endresz - I wonder what became of them? He reappeared at the end of the show swinging a girl who has adopted the stage name of Hayley Weight - once in the air, she seemed, though, quite weightless and graceful.
The undoubted star of the show was a Bulgarian called Anguel Bojilov. He had two acts, the second on a slack wire juggling a variety of balls and hoops. Like Madame De Reszke and Emilio Delbosq, Anguel has immense charm. He is worth the ticket price alone. In fact, he is worth the price of 4 tickets, at least. As the circus moves on to Bicester and Didcot, I can only encourage readers of Daily Information to take time out, buy some popcorn and have a jolly good evening at John Lawson's.
In an age when animal acts have vanished, John Lawson's prize-winning circus offers an intimate view of what a modern circus can do. It has charm, wit and a certain eccentricity mostly tied up in the master of ceremonies, Madam Vonni De Reszke, John Lawson's widow, who presides from one side of the ring, cross-legged on a plastic chair, with a slightly detatched air, interjecting the occasional dry comment during acts. I must confess that I found her fascinating, not only because she reminded me of my Derbyshire mother, but also because she has the grace and intelligence to let the circus acts, which she has presumably booked, speak for themselves, and they do.
Do not be afraid of its size: small is definitely beautiful here, and it is fun to buy a flag from a Welshman who 40 minutes later will be hanging over your head, flying on a rope, literally bouncing against the tent roof. There are clowns; a French couple called the Duo Delbosq, making the most out of audience participation, and I watched their acts with terror that any moment I would be called into the ring to perform. Some of their tricks were genuinely very funny, and the business with the audience was inspired and relaxed. There are equestrian artists called Tim and Adolph Delbosq touring with other circuses on the continent and in the States, so I assume the Delbosq clowns come from the same circus family. It's good to know that the tradition is being kept alive and still passed from generation to generation!
A number of aerial acts were punctuated by performances from Andrea (with hula hoops), Claire Marie (balancing a laid-table on her head while ascending and descending a ladder) and the Nevadas (knife-throwing). I was looking forward to Attila on a monocycle, but he was not in the line-up the evening I went, and neither was Xena, the "princess of balance". Derek Masters, a comedy chef, did a rather elaborate routine with plate-spinning, but was really no match for an act the Lawson's had some time ago, a couple called Endresz - I wonder what became of them? He reappeared at the end of the show swinging a girl who has adopted the stage name of Hayley Weight - once in the air, she seemed, though, quite weightless and graceful.
The undoubted star of the show was a Bulgarian called Anguel Bojilov. He had two acts, the second on a slack wire juggling a variety of balls and hoops. Like Madame De Reszke and Emilio Delbosq, Anguel has immense charm. He is worth the ticket price alone. In fact, he is worth the price of 4 tickets, at least. As the circus moves on to Bicester and Didcot, I can only encourage readers of Daily Information to take time out, buy some popcorn and have a jolly good evening at John Lawson's.