Les Femmes Circus are an all-female circus troupe who combine circus with theatre, dance, singing and percussion to create work that is exciting, moving and breathtaking.
The company are all graduates of the National Centre for Circus Arts and use a range of circus disciplines in their work including aerial, acrobatics, hula hoop and juggling.
With an aesthetic based in the 1950s, Les Femmes Circus use comedy and manipulation to create a world where circus is the norm, playing with fear, love and fantasy, and revealing how fun it can be to misbehave.
Fierce and full of power, the company want to connect with their audiences – and to do so not only by performing tricks, but by telling a story, revealing their feelings, and allowing the audience to fully experience the performance, both visually and emotionally.
Les Femmes Circus are an all-female circus troupe who combine circus with theatre, dance, singing and percussion to create work that is exciting, moving and breathtaking.
The company are all graduates of the National Centre for Circus Arts and use a range of circus disciplines in their work including aerial, acrobatics, hula hoop and juggling.
With an aesthetic based in the 1950s, Les Femmes Circus use comedy and manipulation to create a world where circus is the norm, playing with fear, love and fantasy, and revealing how fun it can be to misbehave.
Fierce and full of power, the company want to connect with their audiences – and to do so not only by performing tricks, but by telling a story, revealing their feelings, and allowing the audience to fully experience the performance, both visually and emotionally.
Beta Testing is a hotchpotch remix of juggling subculture and influences such as TED talks, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and a fear of the haddock.
In what began life as a blog, set up after a late night conversation about circus, art and how to make the perfect pizza, Beta Testing looks at the intricacies and probability of juggling.
Sparks, Udry and Pang share theory, secrets and more than a few laughs as they take us through throwing, catching and dropping.
You can watch the trailer here and read a review of the show here.
Early Bird: Book before Fri 17 Apr and save 10%
A celebration of London life through the ages, with readings, riotous anecdotes and live music. Dickens, Emmeline Pankhurst, Pepys, Blake, Boswell, Ian Dury, Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf are among those featured. The actors are Daniel Dresner and Kate Walsh, who is about to join Radio 4 as a continuity announcer; music is by Bow and Bellows (violin, vocals, horn, accordion).
Free and open to all but do phone to book your place. In these lively debates, prominent and informed speakers argue their points of view on issues of current importance. They are ‘seconded’ by pupils from local schools, and audience members also have the opportunity to sway the opinion of those attending.
The motion: This House Believes that Gender Equality is Unachievable
Proposing: Ann Hussey, QC and barrister specialising in family law
Opposing: Vicky Pryce, economist and former joint head of the UK government economic service
After moving from Germany to London over ten years ago to live and work in a more diverse community, renowned sword swallower, circus artist and dazzling burlesque artist Livia Kojo Alour learned that life-long feelings of self-hatred and otherness are part internalised racism and part survival techniques. With a successful career under her stage name MisSa, but tiring of playing someone else full-time, Black Sheep has been long in the making, serving as a candid autobiographical work and a euphoric reclamation of Livia’s identity and ongoing fortitude.
Black Sheep is a story about a Black woman finding love and a testament of personal strength, developed through transcending the white gaze, overcoming institutional racism and leaning into radical vulnerability. Securing her place as a pivotal UK Queer Black voice while telling her story via a heady mix of physical theatre, spoken word, song and sword swallowing, Black Sheep is timely, unsettling and deeply personal.
Suitable for ages 14+
After moving from Germany to London over ten years ago to live and work in a more diverse community, renowned sword swallower, circus artist and dazzling burlesque artist Livia Kojo Alour learned that life-long feelings of self-hatred and otherness are part internalised racism and part survival techniques. With a successful career under her stage name MisSa, but tiring of playing someone else full-time, Black Sheep has been long in the making, serving as a candid autobiographical work and a euphoric reclamation of Livia’s identity and ongoing fortitude.
Black Sheep is a story about a Black woman finding love and a testament of personal strength, developed through transcending the white gaze, overcoming institutional racism and leaning into radical vulnerability. Securing her place as a pivotal UK Queer Black voice while telling her story via a heady mix of physical theatre, spoken word, song and sword swallowing, Black Sheep is timely, unsettling and deeply personal.
Suitable for ages 14+
After moving from Germany to London over ten years ago to live and work in a more diverse community, renowned sword swallower, circus artist and dazzling burlesque artist Livia Kojo Alour learned that life-long feelings of self-hatred and otherness are part internalised racism and part survival techniques. With a successful career under her stage name MisSa, but tiring of playing someone else full-time, Black Sheep has been long in the making, serving as a candid autobiographical work and a euphoric reclamation of Livia’s identity and ongoing fortitude.
Black Sheep is a story about a Black woman finding love and a testament of personal strength, developed through transcending the white gaze, overcoming institutional racism and leaning into radical vulnerability. Securing her place as a pivotal UK Queer Black voice while telling her story via a heady mix of physical theatre, spoken word, song and sword swallowing, Black Sheep is timely, unsettling and deeply personal.
Suitable for ages 14+
Join us to discover the history of three local venues: Lauderdale House, Jacksons Lane and Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
Speakers from three of Highgate’s key entertainment venues join us for a special Heritage Weekend talk! With each building facing uncertain futures at one stage or another, this talk will provide a fascinating insight into the transformations and challenges involved in converting each into the venues we know today.
We will hear from Nick Peacey, one of the driving forces behind Lauderdale House’s conversion to an Arts and Cultural Centre, alongside John Plews – long time manager of the award-winning Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatre. Finally, we will be hearing from the team at Jacksons Lane and their amazing journey from derelict church to thriving community venue!