Moscow State Circus

Riverside Park, Dundee, August 8–12

The big top is on its way to Dundee next week, with the performers of Moscow State Circus ready to wow audiences with acrobatics and feats.

The world-famous circus has been touring the UK for the last year with its production of Gostinitsa – which translates from Russian as hotel – with the city’s Riverside Park its next stop.

Owner and director John Haze says: “When we start a new show, we go over to Moscow, look at acts over there and cherry pick the ones we think would work best for audiences in the UK.

“Then we bring it over, put it together in a story and give it a theme – and this year’s is Gostinitsa. It’s about a wacky hotel that our clowns and hosts run and all the artistes and performers are staying in it.”

Award-winning clowns the Chervotkins Duo will guide the audience through the hotel of curiosities, featuring acts such as the Didyk Troupe who perform on Europe’s only double Russian swings.

The Alikhanov Troupe perform on two 10m poles balanced on one shoulder of a man with not one but three female performers climbing and spinning to the very top of the same pole.

Unicyclists the Gorodetskiys Duo, sensational trapeze artistes the Peruskins Duo and Anna Rastsova also feature on the bill.

John, who has been involved with Moscow State Circus for about 12 years, is circus born and bred. With both his parents as performers, he was less than a year old when he first went on the road.

John’s father came and went throughout his childhood, always returning to the circus. John learned the skill of fire eating at the age of 11 before his father vanished – never to be seen by him again.

“I stayed in the circus until I was about 20 and then I did rock ‘n’ roll for a while and I eventually found a way of combining the two in a show called Circus of Horrors,” he goes on.

Thanks to his success as a performer as well as an entrepreneur and businessman, he was approached by Moscow State Circus to work on promotion. Soon after, he had the opportunity to buy into the circus and is now an owner. He continues to run and star in Circus of Horrors as ringmaster Dr Haze.

Gostinitsa is performed in a state-ofthe-art big top that can seat 1,350 and is one of the largest in the UK. John adds: “You walk in and you feel like you are walking into a theatre. Moscow State Circus is a family show. Adults love it too as it’s great quality entertainment with top-class performers.”

“A lot of young people walking into the circus for the first time will see this massive amphitheatre filled with excited people waiting for the show to start, and I hope they get the buzz that I got when I was a kid.” www.moscowstatecircus.com

The performers of the Moscow State Circus.