Preview: The Insect Circus, Hoxton Hall, London

A creepy, crawly circus extravaganza

Oscar Blustin
Monday 11 December 2006 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Insect Circus's boastful description of itself as "a unique theatrical extravaganza" is, for once, not far from the truth. Comprising a circus performance and a Grand Travelling Insect Circus Museum, housed in a vintage, mahogany-lined Bedford TK beetlebox lorry, this delightfully different theatrical experience revels in everything invertebrate.

The concept sprang from the imagination of the artist Mark Copeland. "The idea for the circus came from an exhibition of paintings I did a few years ago," he says. "It was about the similarity between, say, a snail and an elephant, a tiger and a wasp." Copeland's paintings, displayed at the Portal Gallery in London, explore a colourful world of warped proportion, with people riding beetle-back on horse-sized bugs, or tiny men climbing ladders to light enormous fireworks; the Insect Circus is but an imaginative gnat's hop away.

Returning to Hoxton Hall in London for the Christmas season after a sell-out run last March, the Insect Circus - in which actors take on the roles both of the circus performers and their insect sidekicks - has expanded its repertoire.

The larger-than-life acrobatic creepy-crawlies are now joined by several novel and astounding wonders: Fakira, the Queen of Mystery ("depending on the lateness of the hour"), Bobby Bob & her ladybird Bobbie, the Mighty Mites Tea Party and the Mantid Tango ("all the way from the Argentine, the latest dance craze!").

Besides his duties in the circus (acting as Ringmaster Ronnie), Copeland designs and creates the many intricate models that populate the travelling museum, purportedly a collection of costumes, props, puppets, toys and ephemera collected over 300 years by the Insect Society.

Regular acts such as The Balancing Scarab Dungo, Tallulah the Worm Charmer and Heroic Captain Courage and his Vicious Vespa Wasps will, of course, still be performing - and as warped as ever.

19 to 30 December, except 24-26 (020-7684 0060; www.insectcircus.co.uk)

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in