Giffords Circus is more than a spectacle. It’s a joyful, ‘handmade’ show full of charm and wonder. The performers, familiar to many by name and famous in their own world, are skilled athletes as well as characterful actors. They awe and entrance the audience in equal measure. Sitting on the old wooden benches in the warm light of the ‘big top’ once a year, you feel immensely privileged to be invited into their bright, magical world which is so far removed from every day life. Timeless, yet ‘of a time’ before technology, where feats of daring are achieved through skill and talent, an ‘analogue adventure into the fantastical’ if you will. I was a big fan.
While the tent filled with riotous applause for the trapeze artists and conjurers, it was clear to me that there was another story to be told behind the curtain - and one that as a photographer would be extremely special.
During the hot, parched summer of 2018, I spent seven days with the performers of Gifford’s Circus, first at delightful Daylesford Farm in the Cotswolds. I was lucky enough to take my camera behind the stage, behind the makeup and glitter and record the people themselves, at rest and relaxed, before and between performances. Like any close knit community, the performers in Gifford’s bond like a family through the intense shared experience of travelling for months and the adrenaline that courses through the live show. However, it didn’t take long to build up a rapport and as the performers relaxed, we built trust and I was able to capture images of the real faces of Gifford’s Circus, the people behind the big top.
The performers at Giffords are always a diverse troupe of circus acts: from the Cuban acrobats with seven children who travel together in the same caravan, eating home cooked food as a family each night; to marvellous Nell Gifford herself, matriarch of the circus whose caravan became a gathering point for performers to sit with a mug of tea and decompress at the end of another long day. Tweedy the Clown was highlight for me - not a young man but with elastic limbs and extraordinary strength - ‘the fittest one here’ someone said to me and I think they were probably right! He makes ‘clowning’ look easy rather than the athletic feat it actually is and buzzes with a marvellous energy. Whether he was scaling the rafters of the tent to tweak a light or learning how to play two trumpets at once just for the hell of it, I found him electric company and an incredible man to photograph.
I used a variety of techniques to capture the images that year - a white backdrop worked well for more classic portraits, the wonderful character on the faces of the performers enough to intrigue and draw the viewer in. I also photographed the performers showing off their skills in the shade of the ancient trees at Blenheim Palace, and at Stoner Park the landscape lent itself to wider shots of the tent and caravans nestled the valley.
My favourite spot became in the wings, during the show itself. This different angle enabled me to capture the performers for mere moments as they ran back through the curtain after their act, sweat pouring from their brows. It was there I took the shot of Nancy in her headdress, mascara running, the emotion and exertion of performance clearly visible in her face. Deeply melancholic, these images are stark and emotive as she pauses, brows tense, a bead of sweat on her upper lip after giving the circus her absolute all. These remain some of my favourite images and this one of Nancy is on the wall in our home.
Those seven days were magical. Magical for me as a photographer because I knew how extraordinarily lucky I was to catch a glimpse of Gifford’s Circus behind the curtain. These images are not polished and glossy, they are at times raw and uncompromising and I hope they celebrate these wonderful people that I admire so much. And I also hope the magic of Gifford’s Circus never ends because Gifford’s is a circus like no other - it reaches out with a human touch, allows the audience to take a breathe, smile, gasp and and experience simple, uncomplicated wonder. An absolute joy.
