Giffords Circus Will Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary Year With A New Show From Director Cal McCrystal

Giffords Circus Will Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary Year With Laguna Bay With A New Show From Acclaimed Director Cal Mccrystal, Featuring The Return Of Tweedy The Clown. Giffords Circus Produces Shows Worthy Of The West End But Staged In A 600-seat Big Top IN The Green Fields Of The Cotswolds And Beyond. Laguna Bay Will Tour From 17th April - 28th September.

Over the past 25 years, Giffords Circus has entertained over one million people with its shows, performed under the canvas of its iconic touring 600-seat big top tent. Giffords Circus expertly challenges the preconceptions of a traditional, old-fashioned circus, while retaining the charm, glamour, nostalgia and magic of a vintage village green circus.

Giffords Circus has earned a reputation for creating West End worthy performances set against the picturesque backdrop of southern England's finest landscapes, featuring a diverse cast of talented performers, acrobats, magicians, musicians, clowns, artistes, poets and entertainers, working harmoniously to create unique, theatrical performances to critical acclaim.

Cal McCrystal, director of Giffords Circus, said: “For our 25th anniversary, we have invited a dazzling mix of new faces and old favourites that will surprise and delight our beloved audiences. Set in the buoyant and sunny era of 1950's America, Laguna Bay is a spectacular blend of fun, excitement and charm. To come to Giffords is to immerse yourself in another world and escape everyday life for a few blissful hours. Our astonishing mix of thrills, skills, adventure, romance, theatrics and hilarity will change all your preconceptions of traditional circus.”

It features the return of the much loved Tweedy the Clown BEM. Tweedy has been at the heart of Giffords Circus for over 15 years, bringing new comic routines and skills to the show each year. He is accomplished in most circus skills and is proficient at playing various musical instruments. Tweedy has won many comedy awards and his talents are in much demand in circus, theatre, TV and film, both at home and abroad. He has built up a cult following which includes a number of celebrities.

Tweedy started his circus career with Zippo's Circus back in 1994. For two years he was featured clown on Ringling Brothers, and Barnum and Bailey, playing such prestigious venues as New York's Madison Square Garden and The Staples Centre, Los Angeles. He also toured theatres for several years with Cirque Berserk, including runs in the West End. Tweedy was awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List 2023 for his contribution to circus and the local community in Stroud.

Maximiliano Stia returns following his role as Merlin the Wizard in last year's Avalon show. Maximiliano first appeared at Giffords in 2013 and again in 2015 and is a versatile magician who discovered his passion for magic at the age of 14 and has not stopped performing around the world ever since. He began his journey as a street performer and has travelled with ‘Clowns Without Borders', bringing joy and magic to children in need, in places such as Palestine, Iraq, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Sito and Dany Santos Silva, publicly known as The Rivelinos, will also join Giffords for their fifth season.

The Ethio-Salem Troupe hail from Addis Abbaba in Ethiopia, from a circus school founded in 2002 by gymnastic coach Biniyam Alemu. Now aged 24 - 28, the troupe's members joined the circus school as children. Last seen at Giffords in the 2023 show Les Enfants du Paradis, they will present their newly honed juggling act and hoop diving with a jaw-dropping twist.

Singer and actress Nell O'Hara returns for a third Giffords season after making her debut in Les Enfants du Paradis. She studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating in 2022, and has also worked with Circus Roncalli.

Randy Forgione Vega is a fourth generation circus artiste from Spain. He will be performing his breathtaking aerial strap act. Since 2012, Giffords Circus shows have been lovingly created by award-winning director, writer and  performer, Cal McCrystal, who has an established career spanning theatre, opera, film, TV and radio. Amongst many notable career highlights, Cal was Physical Comedy Director on the Royal National Theatre's multi award-winning hit One Man, Two Guvnors, which transferred to the West End and Broadway. Cal has also directed for Cirque du Soleil, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Irish National Theatre, English National Opera and Glyndebourne Opera. He has resident shows at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and Caesars Palace in Atlantic City. Cal was also physical comedy consultant on the first two Paddington feature films.

Laguna Bay will launch on 17th April 2025 at the home of Giffords Circus, Fennells Farm in Stroud. Following its opening run, it will then continue to tour some of the most picturesque sites across the Cotswolds and South England, including Bowood House & Gardens in Wiltshire (1st - 6th May), Sudeley Castle & Gardens in Gloucestershire (9th - 19th May), Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire (22nd May - 2nd June), Chiswick House & Gardens in London (5th - 22nd June), Evenley Wood Garden in Northamptonshire (26th June - 7th July), Stonor Park & Gardens in Oxfordshire (10th - 14th July),  Barrington in Oxfordshire (17th - 28th July), Frampton Court in Gloucestershire (31st July - 4th August), Minchinhampton Common in Gloucestershire (7th - 18th August), Marlborough Common in Wiltshire (21st August - 1st September), Statton Meadows in Gloucestershire (4th - 15th September) before returning back home to Fennells Farm in Stroud to close the season (18th - 28th September).

Circus Sauce - Giffords Circus' unique, critically-acclaimed travelling restaurant - will return to accompany the Laguna Bay tour, serving a rustic yet extravagant banquet style three-course feast on selected evenings following the last show of the day, created by a team of talented chefs using local, seasonal ingredients (pre-booking essential).

2025 Tour Dates

Fennells Farm
Stroud, Gloucestershire
17th - 21st, 24th - 27th April

Bowood House and Gardens
Calne, Wiltshire
1st - 6th May

Sudeley Castle and Gardens
Winchcombe, Gloucestershire
9th - 12th, 15th - 19th May

Blenheim Palace
Woodstock, Oxfordshire
22nd – 26th May, 29th May – 2nd June

Chiswick House and Gardens
London
5th - 9th, 12th - 16th, 19th - 22nd June

Evenley Wood Garden
Evenley, Northamptonshire
26th - 30th June, 3rd - 7th July

Stonor Park and Gardens
Stonor, Oxfordshire
10th - 14th July

Barrington
near Burford, Oxfordshire
17th - 21st, 24th - 28th July

Frampton Court
Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire
31st July - 4th August

Minchinhampton Common
Stroud, Gloucestershire
7th - 12th August, 14th - 18th August

Marlborough Common
Marlborough, Wiltshire
21st - 25th, 28th August - 1st September

Statton Meadows
Cirencester, Gloucestershire
4th- 8th, 11th - 15th September

Fennells Farm
Stroud, Gloucestershire
18th - 22nd, 25th - 28th September

Box Office: 01453 800200
Online: www.giffordscircus.com

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