Performances were on 17, 19, 20, 22, 23 March & 25 March 2012 at Riverside Studios

 

Tête à Tête

 

Read the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle preview

 

Circus Tricks by Michael Henry & Adey Grummet is set in the spellbinding, fleeting world of the circus, where laughter is tragic, tears are hilarious and wonder both wrenches the heart and makes it soar!

 

The knife thrower’s assistant cannot stand the pain of her secret love for the knife thrower, an acrobat fights the world through the bottle, his brother struggles to catch him one more time, the trapeze artist is entranced by the pursuit of a single moment of weightlessness, the horse dreams of running in straight lines and the contortionist is just plain lonely.

 

And then there’s the elephant…

 

 

The production was developed over a number of years having grown out of a Lite Bite opera produced in 2009 called the The Agony of the Knifethrower’s Assistant which you can watch here.

 

The idea was then developed, you can see pictures and watch the initial workshop version here:

 

 

tete a tete's CIRCUS TRICKS

 

The final full production was presented at Riverside Studios in 2012 and can be seen here:

 

 

tete a tete's CIRCUS TRICKS

 

Composer: Michael Henry

Music: Adey Grummet

Cast:

Alice (Trapeze Artist): Yvette Bonner

Xiu (Mongolian Contortionist): Lilly Papaioannou

Tanya (Knife Thrower’s Assistant): Alison Crookendale

Jack (Knife Thrower): Daniel Broad

Barney (Trick Pony): Christopher Diffey

Tom (Acrobat): Daniel Keating-Roberts

Jemmy (Acrobat, brother of Tom): Simon Wilding

 

Chroma:

Sarah O’Flynn Flute/Piccolo

Stuart King (16 March Massimo di Trolio) Clarinet/Bass Clarinet

Heidi Bennett Trumpet

Clare O’Connell (20 March Chris Allan) Cello

Steve Gibson Percussion

Elena Hull Bass

Conductor: Gerry Cornelius

Director: Bill Bankes-Jones

Designer: Tim Meacock

Lighting Designer: Mark Doubleday

RŽpŽtiteur: John-Paul Gandy

Production Manager: James Donovan