#Chris Barltrop

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The Widow’s Best of 2018

In what has been another miserable year in many respects, the arts have been more important than ever in keeping spirits high. Here are some of the things we’ve liked. They lean a little, but – suffering as we are from ‘circus fatigue’ – certainly not all the way, towards that art form. But first we have something to say. Last year when we posted our ‘Best of’ round-up, one of our favourite cabaret acts had a fit of pique and unfollowed us and blocked us because she hadn’t made the cut. So this time, before offending anyone else of a similarly delicate disposition, we’d like to point out that to be considered for our list, we have to have seen your show – even if it’s an old one – during the year. So, now that’s clear, let’s proceed. All shows are in London unless otherwise stated.

BEST SHOW: Knot by the hand-to-hand duo of Nikki and JD – American Nikki Rummer and Frenchman Jean-Daniel Broussé – seen (again) at The Place. This show has it all: skill, emotion, humour, dance, music. We simply loved it! Don’t miss it on tour again in 2019.

MALE CIRCUS ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Laci Simet, whose 40-year career has encompassed appearances on high wire, Wheel of Death, motorbike on the wire, skywalks and more recently The Semaphore – a recreation of the Koch Sisters revolving act – during which he balances on a knife edge that is constantly falling away from him. His was also the MOST READ WIDOW INTERVIEW.

FEMALE CIRCUS ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Rhiannon Cave-Walker from Fauna, not just for her stunning skills but because she’s such lovely person. Fauna ran at Flora Herberich’s Battersea Circus Garden during Wandsworth Arts Fringe.

BEST ACT: The flying Russian cradle in Cirque du Soleil’s OVO at the Royal Albert Hall, Barcode’s Russian bar with flyer Alexandra Royer and bases Eric Bates and Tristan Nielsen, seen at Cirque de Demain in Paris, and anything Lewie West did in Gravity & Other Myth’s Backbone, which ran at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

BEST SURPRISE APPEARANCE: The stupendous Rowan Heydon-White, who popped up unannounced in Circa’s Peepshow during the Underbelly Festival.

MOST INNOVATIVE CIRCUS SHOW: The holograms used in Circus Roncalli.

BEST THEATRE SHOW: Mother by Peeping Tom Dance at the Barbican during the London International Mime Festival.

MOST WELCOME RETURN FROM INJURY: Lydia Harper, who returned to Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK after four months off following hip surgery. And Andrew Adams of The Silhouette. Having fallen 30ft from the Wallendas’ high wire and being badly hurt, he recovered and appeared with Sasha Harrington at Cirque de Demain.

BEST CIRCUS 250 SHOW: Chris Barltrop’s self-penned one-man show, Audacious Mr Astley – seen at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – tops the year celebrating the birth of circus in the UK. Chris also gets BEST COSTUME for Astley’s beautiful and authentic red coat.

BEST MC: The inimitable Calixte de Nigremont, whom we met at last at Cirque de Demain.

BEST MAGIC TRICK: Yann Frisch appearing a pack of cards from nowhere during Le Paradoxe de Georges in his spectacular movable theatre Le Camion-Chapiteau – which gets BEST VENUE – in Paris, and Eric Chien’s Ribbon act to become 2018 FISM close-up champion.

MOST ARRESTING IMAGES: Phia Menard’s show about suicide, Les Os Noirs, at the Montfort Theatre in Paris.

BEST ONGOING NIGHT: Rose Thorne and Benjamin Louche’s Double R Club at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club.

MOMENT OF WONDER: Cai Guo-Qiang’s exquisite daytime powder fireworks. Plus Lewie West skidding on this hands in Backbone, and Daniel Cave-Walker balancing on his head in Fauna. Look, no hands!

BEST CIRCUS CABARET: Black Cat Bohemia at the Underbelly Festival at Southbank Centre. A simply wonderful show! It transcended the format, which can often look tired, and its line-up included our interviewees Lj Marles, Katharine Arnold and Nicolas Jelmoni, as well as others knock-out acts such as the lovely Jo Moss.

MOST UNIQUE SHOW: Crème de la Dregs by Dina Martina at Soho Theatre.

BEST ‘IN CONVERSATION’: Performance artist Rose English and Stine Hebert during Crying Out Loud’s Circus Sampler at Somerset House.

BEST DANCE: B-boy Elihu Vazquez in Barely Methodical Troupe’s SHIFT, seen at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi’s thrilling duets in Tango After Dark at the Peacock Theatre. 

BEST DANCE CIRCUS: Motionhouse’s Charge also at the Peacock. BEST CIRCUS FILM: Psycho-Circus with Christopher Lee from 1966, in which a circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder!

MOST FABULOUS: Régis Marvin Merveille N'Kissi Moggzi in the joyous French teen movie/documentary Swagger, which is set in one of the country’s most under-privileged neighbourhoods.

BEST INTERVIEW: Gaylord Fields speaking to the tireless Petula Clark on WFMU. Hoping for some UK concerts in 2019.

BEST MUSIC IN A CIRCUS SHOW: Elliot Zoerner and Shenton Gregory’s soundtrack for Backbone, played live onstage.

MOST SHOWBIZ: Mr Murray Hill. Nobody cared when his show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe drifted off course and never came back. It was enough to be in the New York icon’s presence. 

BEST SHOWBIZ BOOK: Spun Into Gold: The Secret Life of a Female Magician by Romany, Diva of Magic.

BEST BURLESQUE: Dita Von Teese, naturally, plus the stunning Zelia Rose, but certainly not the rest of the cast in The Art of the Teese at the Carré in Amsterdam.

BEST TV CHARACTER: Ciro di Marzio from Gomorra and Joséphine ‘Maître’ Karlsson from Engrenages/Spiral.

MOST IMPRESSIVE MEMORY FEAT: Laura Linney in I Am Lucy Barton at the Bridge Theatre, who was word perfect in this 90-minute monologue.

BEST GIG: Winter Kills (Piano Magic) at Antenna Studios, Barry Adamson at Union Chapel, and Sevdaliza at The Barbican.

BEST SOLO SHOW: Songs for Nobodies, Bernadette Robinson’s astonishing portrayal of five divas: Garland, Cline, Piaf, Holiday and Callas, at Wilton’s Music Hall.

MOST UPSETTING: The news that the spectacular French variety show Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde, hosted by Patrick Sébastien, is ending in June 2019. Sob!

MOST CHARISMATIC: Isabella Rossellini in her theatrical lecture, Link Link Circus, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall; a sort of follow-up to her wonderful Green Porno.

ONE TO WATCH: Mieke Lizotte, currently with Gravity & Other Myths.

MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2019: Aurélia Thiérée’s Bells and Spells at the Theatre Royal during the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and Isabelle Huppert in the film Greta!

MOST MISSED: Circus artist/actor Raphael Cruz, who died at just 32, and our lovely friend Merian Ganjou of the fabulous Dior Dancers, who died aged 79. Keep on flying, Merian!

Look out for the first of our interviews in the new year, which will be with one (or more) of the artists from Cirque Eloize show Hotel, which is coming to the Peacock Theatre in February.

Pic credits: Fabio Affuso; Nicholas Brittain

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Chris Barltrop, actor and ringmaster: Audacious Mr Astley

Chris Barltrop describes himself as “semi-nomadic”, but is originally from Walthamstow in London. He has entertained audiences all over Europe as a performer, and also devised, directed and facilitated shows. He has a lengthy theatre CV – including leading roles in Twelfth Night, The Crucible and Pygmalion – and has also appeared on TV programmes as diverse as The Dick Emery Show, The Royal Variety Performance, Casualty and Blue Peter. 

Chris has been a ringmaster for 40 years, including a lengthy run from 1997–2012 for the Grand Cirque de Noël in Toulouse, where he spoke in French. In the UK he has been general manager and MC for the Moscow State Circus, Gerry Cottle's Circus, Jimmy Chipperfield's Circus World and Continental Circus Berlin, among others. He lectures on the history of circus and circus life and is an in-demand after-dinner speaker.

Now Chris makes his Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut – opening on his 70th birthday – with his self-penned one-man play Audacious Mr Astley. The show – which celebrates the equestrian Philip Astley and marks the 250th anniversary since he started the art form in the UK – runs at the Pleasance Courtyard from 1-27 August 2018. Chris chats to Liz Arratoon.

The Widow Stanton: Were you formally trained as an actor? Chris Barltrop: I went to East 15 Acting School in the late 1960s. No one in my family was in the theatre but my father and my mother had done some amateur acting. My father was a teacher when I was small, but he stopped doing that to be a full-time writer and artist. So I grew up in a house that was arts orientated, full of books, and which was also full of political discussion. My parents used to go to see Joan Littlewood’s productions at Theatre Workshop, Stratford, when they were a young married couple so they saw a lot of actors and were very pleased when I eventually decided to go into it. I never had a plan for life and I haven’t now, really [laughs]. I was good at acting at school and suddenly decided to try it.

Part of my father’s personality was that he was a great raconteur and would tell stories and do the characters and voices. That gave me the idea it was fine to do that. I am, like a lot of performers, very, very shy, but you can hide behind a persona and face the world because it’s not you they’re looking at, it’s the ringmaster or Dogberry, or Malvolio; it’s the character. You’re putting up a front, like the clown with his mask.

What did you do on The Dick Emery Show? It was 1979, when Jimmy Chipperfield was approached by the BBC to do an episode setting all the sketches in the circus. It was wonderful to work with him. Dick was doing a summer show in Great Yarmouth. I went down to see him and he was very nice. I asked him to back my application for Equity membership and he wrote me a charming letter.

And on the Royal Variety Performance? I got in touch with the BBC, whose turn it was that year, and spoke to the producer, Kevin Bishop. He was very keen to include the Moscow State Circus, but he said I’d have to produce our spot. So I planned the spot and we did it as a little showcase; one trick from the Russian bar, 30 seconds of the hat juggling and the clowns and me standing on the side of the stage as ringmaster. [Laughs] The other time was 1989 or ’90, the producers wanted to include ‘The World of the Circus’; Paul Daniels introducing artists from Jolly’s Circus, from Gerry Cottle’s, from John Lawson’s… people brought snakes, Gerry brought a baby elephant, and I came on as the Moscow State Circus’ ringmaster.

How did you get into being a ringmaster? The circus was really an accident. Having finished drama school when it was still the days of the Equity closed shop, I didn’t have an Equity card and you couldn’t get a job without one. It was 18 months after graduating and I was doing fill-in jobs, driving, and so forth. We were living in a little cottage in Saffron Walden and my wife, Barbara, who was a teacher, had had to stop work when we had a baby daughter. So it was up to me to earn a living.

One week in The Stage there was an advert for Hoffman’s Circus: ‘Staff Wanted’. Not performers, but what we in the circus still call ‘billers’, people who put up the bills. They wanted a married couple to run the advance booking office. It said: “Luxury accommodation provided. Best terms in the business.” I said to my wife: ‘What do you think?’. We decided to write and if we got the job, we’d stick with it even if it was absolutely dreadful and awful, because we’d learn something. It was in the entertainment business; it was a new aspect to learn about.

The accommodation was in an artic vehicle that had been built as a mobile hairdressing studio for film location work. It was nicely fitted out and comfortable. We weren’t with the circus but we were on the circus and got to know it. We toured Scotland and enjoyed it very much, and asked if we could go back the following year when they were touring the West Country. One of them said; “You’re hooked.” We said: “No, we just fancy doing a second year,” but actually that was the case.

After that I went to work for Gerry Cottle, still putting posters up, and into the second season with him, he asked about my background. He thought I was better spoken than a lot of people and said would I like to try being ringmaster for one of his Christmas circuses in Cardiff. That was 1976. Then the next season he took me on to the circus as house manager and deputy ringmaster, but as the season went on it became more and more that is was me being the ringmaster all the time. It was very hectic, dealing with the public, doing a show, running back out and trying to do both at once. It was very enjoyable and I learnt a lot.

What qualities does a good ringmaster need? The public see the ringmaster as a sort of compere but in fact the ringmaster is the stage manager. I was very quickly aware that I needed to watch out for people’s wires and everything else and make sure things were safely put up and that the props were in the right place. So there’s an element of safety. I remember once when I was one of two assistant ringmasters to Norman Barrett, a Russian trapeze artist missed his trick and was falling. There was the safety net but it looked as though he was going right to the side of it. He was OK, but my reaction was to run forward and when I looked it was Norman Barrett and me running towards one another to do something about it.

That’s what you need, an awareness and a knowledge of the rigging and of what is happening to the artists. I’ve had swings on trapezes, I’ve climbed up to the high wire just to stand there and see what they’re seeing. It’s important to do that, and over and above that it’s alertness, awareness and a calm character because if something goes wrong you’ve got to deal with it. ‘Right, you pick that up, I’m going to talk to the audience, clear that and tell the clowns to come in… ladies and gentleman…’. You have to be concise and have the skill of thinking what to say next; so often when there’s a bit of action going on I’m editing words in my head. Also you have to be able to present yourself if it’s a TV interview. I do love the variety of it. You can be on national television one minute or knocking stakes in or driving a lorry the next.

Did you have to learn French for Grand Cirque de Noël? I was taught French at school. Our teacher was the headmaster, whose wife was from Brittany. I was the dunce of the class and only scraped through. Sadly, he died but I would have loved to say to him, ‘Guess what I do for a month every winter? I stand in front of 2,500 French people talking French!’. He’d have laughed his head off. He’d have loved it. 

Tell us how Audacious Mr Astley came about? In 1973/74 at the end of that first season there were no Christmas circuses. It wasn’t practical with canvas tents in the winter. I thought I’d like to find out about circus. There were two books in Saffron Walden library: I Love You Honey But the Season’s Over by Connie Clausen and British Circus Life by Eleanor Smith. I read about Philip Astley starting circus in London. As time went on, I think it was 1986, and having an interest in the history of the circus and knowing roughly where it started, I researched and pinpointed the exact spot at Halfpenny Hatch. Astley chose a field where there was a busy footpath. The landowner charged a halfpenny for people to take a shortcut across his land and you paid at a little window in the fence or hatch. So this is the famous spot. It has lovely Georgian cottages on it now that were built in about 1820. 

Has the spot been marked now? I was pleased to identify it for people but there had never been a commemoration on the spot, hence on Easter Monday we unveiled a plaque, which the local residents paid for. They’re so interested in this piece of history related to where they live. I did the premiere of Audacious Mr Astley in Waterloo East Theatre a few yards away; it was smashing.

What form does the show take? With the 250th anniversary getting closer and closer, I thought I’d love to combine my circus knowledge with my acting – directing myself – and my writing skills, which I’ve developed over the years working with the press. A year or so ago, I started to make some notes, in the knowledge that I was not simply giving a lecture or illustrated talk but that I wanted to be Philip Astley and that this would be, not only a unique way to tell the story in the sense that someone will be standing there being him, but also I believe, I hope, with a unique insight.

Astley established various traditions; he wore a red coat, he toured his shows straight away, they went out to Bath and Bristol and he took the circus to Scotland, where I’ll be in a couple of weeks. He introduced it to Ireland and Europe. And he also established a tradition of tough mindedness and independence and overcoming the odds to make sure it happened.

How important has it been for traditional circus in the UK to mark this 250-year anniversary? It’s very important for all circus. It’s a great thing with Circus250 having tremendous individual supporters; Martin Burton of Zippos Circus is one. He’s got the horses and this year he’s reproduced The Courier, which happened in Georgian circuses, where someone stands across two horses with the other horses coming through. Also it’s had the backing of Dea Birkett. She’s the chair of the co-ordinating group and has originated some events of her own.

There is also Andrew Van Buren’s Philip Astley Project in Newcastle-under-Lyme. I love their line: “Philip Astley is Newcastle-under-Lyme’s Shakespeare.” And so he is. Look what he achieved; it’s not literature but he had a cultural impact, which has spread worldwide… . He called it Astley’s Amphitheatre of Equestrian Arts and took it to royal families everywhere. He promoted himself and it was famous throughout the 19th century; Dickens, Jane Austen, Thackeray wrote about it. William Blake lived in one of Astley’s houses and he must have sat there sketching the horses in the amphitheatre. Some people think circus started with contemporary circus 30 years ago, and don’t want animals, but Astley was a rider so horses were involved. He called it a ‘hippodrama’; a play with lots of horses.

Who created your costume? I carefully researched the costume and was very lucky and found a book on eBay The 15th King’s Hussars with uniforms from 1759, which was when his regiment was formed and when he joined. The costume was made by Farthingale Costumes, who make costumes for reenactors, such as The Sealed Knot. It’s the exact material, it’s the exact cut and tailoring; it’s precise.

How do feel about going to Edinburgh for the first time? It’s been a wonderful 12 months in lots and lots of ways. It’s been absolutely fantastic! And to have performed as him on the very spot on Easter Monday, the exact 250th anniversary, was a fabulous thing to be able to do. There’s another anniversary, mine and Mr Astley’s; my 70th birthday on 1 August and I’m presenting him as 70 years old. It’s perfect, absolutely brilliant; it’s such a happy coincidence.

Chris performs Audacious Mr Astley at the Pleasance Courtyard (venue 33) from 1-27 August 2018 during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Picture credits: Ashleigh Cadet; Pierre Gautier: David Davis

For Audacious Mr Astley tickets, click here

Chris’ website

Twitter: @Astley250 @circus250 @ThePleasance @edfringe @PhilipAstleypro

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