Blog: Confessions of a circus performer
Monday 20th June 2011, 8:35AM BST.
Blog: “Do you want to be in the show? It’s quite easy, we’ll make you up and then you’ll get custard pied and have a bucket of water thrown over you.” Well, how could I refuse?
After lugging great big furniture frames around all day for £1.93 an hour as a 16-year-old, I had certainly done worse jobs.
That was the offer made to me by one of the managers at a circus when it set up its Big Top in Kingswinford eight years ago.
The knockabout troupe was a clown down for its 15-minute slapstick slot, after one of its members had to fly back to Russia to be at the bedside of his sick father.
I proceeded to make-up in the caravan of Arnett & Paulo’s head clown Kakehole, otherwise known as Chris Freear. He is now a clown for John Lawson’s circus but is moving abroad, opening up the latest vacancy for Telford folk. (For the full story click here)
Chris has been a clown for nearly 20 years, after running away from home to join the circus when he was just 16. Devito the clown warned: “When you go to throw the bucket of water over your head, make sure the brush is not still in it, because I have done that before and it bloody hurts!”
Before I knew it we were ready and out there, and the 15-minute slot flew by.
I sprayed the audience with water, soaked myself (remembering to drop the brush!) and got caked in various liquids by Devito and Kakehole.
As time passed I began to actually enjoy it, growing in confidence and improvising.
And the final verdict? For a clown I make a pretty good journalist – or so I was told.
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