New circus quickly became a part of the work. This involved stilt walking characters, juggling, fire eating and breathing, balances, acrobatics and performances that ranged from 15 minutes to nearly three hours. Stiltwalkers have created a range of one and a half size human characters, dance routines based on three different heights, mumming shows, a giant grim reaper and costumed banner wavers in the grand parade.

Grafitti Circus
took the mumming show form, a caravan turned into a giant pumpkin and the story of Cinderella to satirise 'sex sells' advertising. This included colourful costumes, a variety of juggling tricks, balances and cross dressing and held an large audience for over half an hour in the park.

Circus Minimus
created a piece of wild street theatre that interacted directly with the audience and featured one character on a unicycle demonstrating the strength of condoms. He did this by placing one over his his head as far as his nose and blowing it up till it formed a large tube above his head and then burst.

Circus Monoxide
was a two and a half hour tent show that went on in Machattie park. It was a highly developed piece of entertainment created by postgraduates involving the exploration of the new circus form.

The Form:
The form is basically a judicious combination of routines approximately seven minutes in length apiece which may be heightened by music. Variety is created by juxtaposing contrasting and complementing routines, and by finding linking elements, themes, characters, stories, costumes, energies etc. It is physical and visual in essence. There can be an MC or storyteller or other character to create a throughline. Music is an essential element and it is better if it is live. Decoration of the site/tent is a way of drawing a crowd and ensuring a receptive frame of mind. It is a flexible structure that enables the show to be shortened and added to at will as circumstances and new acts evolve.

Principle use the same piece or idea in a different context.
Principle everyone won't see everything so repeat work.
Principle a piece of work only has to last the life of its audience then it can be repeated.
Principle some audience will delight in seeing/hearing the same piece two or three times to see how it changes.

S A F E T Y
The practical work involved in devising celebrations requires the occupational health and safety practices associated with the visual and performing arts. Always put safety first.