When The Circus Comes To Town!

Keith Nairn-Munro harks back to the bygone age of the circus and takes a look at the many figures produced over the years to represent it.

The simple words “It's arrived!” could send a frisson of excitement sparking through the school that not even the fiercest teacher could suppress. Conversely, the words “We have ring side seats” could elicit a cloud of envy that could transform a fairly passive gathering into a cauldron of displeasure. Such was the power of the circus!

To try and convey the fascination that this institution engendered for many years after the war is exceedingly difficult. The reason being, it was of its time and we now view the whole tableau that formed the Big Top with such different eyes.

Nonetheless, if we can just for a moment set aside the awful nature of the animal training and the way they were kept, I would like to transport you back to a rather naive world where the glamour and spectacle of the circus entranced people of all ages and brought a sunbeam of pleasure into many mundane and dreary lives.

At the height of its post war popularity, there were three major circuses touring Britain, Billy Smarts, Chipperfields and Bertrand Mills. The power of the circus was so strong that no Christmas could pass without one being on the television. But the real magic and thrill was to be able to sit by the ringside, your senses bedazzled with so much to hear and see. 

One minute you were laughing hysterically as the clowns threw buckets of water with abandon, often soaking the audience as much as themselves. Then in the next blink, your back pressed hard against the seat, you gazed spellbound as a lion flung open its cavernous mouth to roar displeasure at a whip cracking tamer.