Circus 1903
I don't think I've ever had more fun performing on stage. This incredible show officially opens tonight in Canberra Australia. It's been a lot of fun but a lot of work to get to this point. What an amazing creative team that conceived, developed and executed this wonderful show.
From the beautifully realized costumes by Angela Aaron to the cinamatic musical score by Evan Jolly and ravishing set design by Todd Edward Ivans, it's a magical setting that will transport audiences to another era. Our director Neil Dorward pulled it all together with a sense of fun and inventiveness that tells the story of the circus coming to town in the year 1903.
I've met a lot of show people in my day, but these amazing circus performers are cut from a different cloth. Some of them are from sixth generation circus families and the showmanship is beyond astonishing. It's an international cast of artists who are all at the top of their game. Simply incredible talent.
And then there are the elephants. Mervyn Millar and Tracy Waller, who were responsible for the amazing horse in War Horse, designed and created these magnificent puppets. They are beautiful, as sculptures they are works of art, but when they move you immediately forget that they are puppets and they become real elephants. It's magical and I don't think people will be prepared for the emotional response they will have to these amazing elephants.
Watching from the wings last night during previews I saw a family in the front row with two boys with their mouths literally hanging open throughout the show! No Marvel movie will ever hope to compete with the thrill of actual super heroes of the circus flying through the air right in front of you. There are so many wonderful moments in the show. It's thrilling and funny and sweet and sometimes a little scary.
We are in Canberra now and then on to the Sydney Opera House and continuing on to Melbourne. And then in 2017 we embark on a coast to coast US tour, beginning at the Pantages in L.A. http://bit.ly/2fsd9B3
Thank you to producers Simon Painter, Andrew Spencer and Tim Lawson for inviting me along for the ride.