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Featured Artist: Uncle Tacko and his amazing flea circus

Date: 16 February 2012

Uncle Tacko: “Circus North’s Hot House Project is up to scratch!”

On Hot House

“It was good to have space and time to develop my act and it was useful to have help from someone with as much experience as Gerry (Flanagan)”

Greentop is proud to be working with Tony Lidington. Last year Tony attended Circus North’s Hot House performance training project and his latest act: Uncle Tacko’s Imaginarium is available for bookings now.

Tony is a critically acclaimed writer, director and performer with over 25 years experience in the entertainment industry. The Flea Circus is part of his latest act: Uncle Tacko’s Imaginarium which will be available for bookings this Summer.

Tony Lidington

1983 - Founded Pierrotters: the last remaining professional seaside Pierrot troupe
1988-92 Fellow in Theatre at Bradford University
1992 Directed opening ceremony of The World Gymnastics
1994 Artistic Director Theatre Royal, Wakefield
1998- Co-founded Poppets Puppets
2004 Wrote Joey – King of Clowns for BBC Radio 4
2007 Starred in tour of adapted play: Joey – King of Clowns
2011 Wrote and starred in tour of Dan Leno – The King’s Jester
Opened The National Theatre of Variety at Blackpool Grand
Recently invited to meet the queen on behalf of Britain’s travelling street artists

How did you get into circus?

I didn’t want to do conventional work in a conventional space. I wanted to do something different and to be creative with form and space.

What do you like most about it?

I’m interested in English Popular Entertainment forms and their application, I’m also interested in promoting the traditional English style of performance and comedy with the focus on improvisation, audience participation and spontaneity, (in contrast to the more polished acts that feature in American and European Circus).

The Flea Circus was a big hit at the recent Hot House Scratch Night (excuse the pun). Can you tell us a bit more about this?

I am not the act, the fleas do all the work, I am merely their coach, their ringmaster and their lunch. The show features eight highly trained fleas who perform incredible feats of strength and agility. The fleas can do trapeze, high wire, acrobatics and even get shot out of a cannon!

What did you think of Circus North’s Hot House Project?

It was good to have space and time to develop my act and it was useful to have help from someone with as much experience as Gerry (Flanagan). I’m used to running workshops myself, it was nice to be able to sit back and let someone else do it!

Any plans for the future?

Well, apart from directing Shakespeare, doing more productions for BBC Radio 4, I will of course be performing across the country with Uncle Tacko’s Imaginarium!

This interest in traditional English circus is reflected in Tony’s previous work, playing the parts of some famous Victorian comic performers.

He has previously played the part of Grimaldi, (whose character ‘Joey’ all clowns are now named after in homage). Grimaldi was said to be the father of modern English clowning, who introduced painting of the face, audience participation and made the clown the mainstay of Victorian music hall entertainment.

Tony also played Dan Leno who was Britain’s leading comic music hall comic performer in the late Victoria era and “pretty much invented stand-up comedy.”

Click here to book Uncle Tacko for your event

Applications are now open for the next round of Hot House artist development programme

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