Tag: circus performers

The Gothic History of the Great, American Freakshow

P. T. BARNUM The name Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) is synonymous with the circus. He is, after all, the Barnum of Barnum & Bailey which, upon merging with Ringling Bros. following the deaths of both Barnum & Bailey, became America’s longest running circus, pitching up for the final time in 2017. On the contemporary popularity… Read More The Gothic History of the Great, American Freakshow

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‘Sawdust & Sequins: The Art of the Circus’

The story begins “250 years ago, on an abandoned patch of land near London’s Waterloo, [when] showman, entrepreneur and equestrian rider Philip Astley drew out a circle in the ground and filled it with astounding physical acts. This spectacle was the world’s very first circus. […] Every circus, anywhere, began at this moment in 1768.”… Read More ‘Sawdust & Sequins: The Art of the Circus’

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