THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN……
By Cathy Cooper, the biggest circus fan in south west London
Zippos Circus is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year with a brand new show and the tour has reached Twickenham Green.
The first Preview show is on Thursday 10th September and runs until Monday 14th with three shows a day on the weekend.
I started photographing Zippos Circus in 2012 and that was the start of my love affair with the circus.
There is something beguiling about seeing the big top at night with all the lights twinkling and hearing the laughter from the audience.
Inside, it is a riot of colour, fast action and incredible skill from a cast of top international performers.
The late Queen Elizabeth II also loved the circus and one year invited Zippos to perform in the garden at Buckingham Palace for a childrens’ party.
Since 2018 I have put up a little photography show in the foyer of Zippos when they come to Twickenham.
It is no mean feat. I remember the founder Martin ‘Zippo’ Burton, telling me “You have to cover everything in plastic”.
All hopes of having a display of nicely framed and mounted images were dashed.
I went away and laminated all my photographs. It was disconcerting to see nice prints looking like pet feeding mats!
On the day of hanging, a puddle of water in the canvas overhead cascaded all over my exhibit board.
After that I had no regrets in using this protective method, especially when a few days later, I found most of the horse images were covered in sticky candy floss fingerprints.
There are no horses these days or any other animals – just a team of hugely talented men and women from all over the world.
Come and be amused by the one true live entertainment provided by a travelling circus and maybe you will fall in love with it like me.