The old and the new, one going, another coming. First, to acknowledge here the passing of “Doktor John Haze,” as John Hayes Mabley was known, a dynamo showman known for his hard-edged Circus Extreme that fielded UK’s biggest big top.
Haze was considered the nation’s reigning circus mogul after the late Gerry Gottle, with whom he founded another long-running hit — their runaway success, Circus of Horrors, billed the “world’s longest running alternative circus show.” Thirty years on, and still playing to sold out crowds.
Modern-Day Barnums: Cottle and Haze
A full menu showman not of the Montreal class, the dexterous Haze promoted a truly daring stunt over the sainted Thames, balancing 16 men 150 feet above the famed river in a “human mobile.” Had one of them slipped , the whole lot would have gone down. Actually, going soft here, I am supposing that water may form a safer landing surface than your standard trapeze net — that is, for those who know how to swim. A chilling stunt, nonetheless. It speaks to the man’s gritty, knock 'em dead showmanship.
At 12, Haze teamed up with his dad --- just released from prison (reasons not given) – to join Circus Della Beck in Ireland. There he learned how to swallow fire, and how to fake reading gullible minds in a crowd. A thread here? Again, echoes of the tough midways that once prefaced earthy tent shows of spangled glories. They gave you the dirt. They gave you the stars. Ballet and theatre interlopers will never understand.
In his random early 20s, Haze dabbled in rock, forming Flash Harry, its players turning circus-type tricks while riffing on.
These British impresarios strike me as adaptive, flexible, and prone to inventing as they go. And maybe more open to collaboration. What bothers/disappoints/puzzles me about them is their nearly total deference to the no-animals format (three shows still carry domestics) . Maybe they know something. They’ve produced shows abroad, and they’ve managed UK tours of both the Chinese and Moscow state troupes. Haze for a time ran the latter. You have an idea, comrade? Heck with the “C” word — Let’s talk! Da?
During the crippling Corona look-downs, Haze led a campaign to unlock them, clear up to the front door of 10 Downing Street. Boris! Are you in there? Boris, beleaguered big tops calling! Boris said yes, UNLOCK, and a nation of circuses were spared collective implosion.
.
Okay, your turn, Tracy Jones! Her take on the biz tells of a nation weak on the talent needed to energize the rings of today’s successfully produced shows. Sounds a whole lot like over here?
Tracy slipped into the life by accident, when taking care of horses for the French stunt rider, Gerard Naprous. When he landed a four-week gig in Gandey’s Circus, she followed him as a horse groom, and fell for the whole party. Told mum, “I’m going to join the circus.” Mum put her and bag on a train. She stayed with Gandeys for the next twenty eights years. Phillip the paymaster threw blades within inches of her fearless face, and she took them. “I trusted him completely.” She learned the basics of trapeze and of trick riding on horseback. Toured with Gandey’s Circus through Shanghai, Honk Kong, and Dubai.
All of which well-grounded our Tracy to start up her very own show, Circus Funtasia, now celebrating its 10th anniversary. The ring is gone, in its place, a rectangular stage. Our ringmistress is giddy and remains optimistic.
On Saturday nights, the tent is reset for the adult-only Cirque du Vulgar. I love it! A clever play on the Montreal formula. I can imagine a legion of restless adults sick and tired of du Precious and flocking to kink and gore for du relief.
Biggest problem running Funtasia? Tracy wishes there were more (like, how about a few) Brits willing to join up. “It’s really, really hard to find British people who want to travel on a circus.... We’re in the ring one moment, selling popcorn the next." More than that, a dearth of skills and training among the hometown pool. “We [also] have a Cuban troupe of gymnasts because in Cubans they train them from very young age.”
Those communist powers do have a way with steel-handed restraint that fosters the disciplines needed to produce competitive thrills. Now, without naming shows (you will know who I am talking about) in freer places we have kids from today’s snowflake generations being harnessed to safety ropes while performing relatively simple feats barely as high off the ground as a low wire. Blame the whole damn thing on the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Tracy’s strategic planning for the next ten years? “Just carry on and enjoy every minute of it.”
Ah, what a lovely note to go out on.
Acknowledging my sources here-- but one: All of the above and the quotes were gleaned from Douglas McPherson’s fine profiles of Haze and Jones, as published in London’s The Stage.
2 comments:
A fine tribute to the changing of the guard on the UK scene, Sir Showbiz! A PS to Haze's human mobile: one of the men had a heavy night on the drink the night before and came close to passing out midway through the stunt. As he swayed, heavy-eyed, the others were shouting at him to stay awake before they all got tipped into the Thames!
On the subject of the animals... as much as I personally enjoyed them, I think Gandey, Cottle and Haze made the right commercial decision. The Chinese, Moscow and Horrors were the big touring success stories of the 90s when the shows with animals were struggling in out of town locations (because of local authority bans) with protesters at the gate - but those struggling shows still seemed to define the public image of circus.
I came late to circus fandom around 2010 (in time to see the last elephants and tigers) and the traditional big top felt like it was dying. The mood in the business was defensive and pessimistic. Today, with the animal issue seemingly off the news spectrum, the tenting scene feels much more buoyant and alive. The fully-floored tents with their square stages instead of a ring seem to have drawn a line under their sawdust past and turned a fresh page in history. We may not be breeding the performers, but a new generation of showmen and showwomen are definitely coming to the fore. There are new shows opening and drawing crowds, including Circus Cortex, run by a Russian lady (who learnt her trade working with Haze and Extreme) with a cast of Ukrainian refugee performers!
High drama over the Thames!
Your take is all very interesting, though the demise of the ring stings. To me, it's an eternal symbol, like home plate for baseball, the podium for the concert hall director.
I believe it is first and foremost the showmen who define the shows and find ways of selling them, and in this regard, the UK appears lucky to have some gifted producers.
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