Entertainment

Audience gets in on circus act

BY MEL COOKE, Freelance Writer

( left ) A hoop dancer performs high above the crowd at the Circo Hnos Suarez Brothers Circus. ( right )Alejandro and the tiger make the rounds. - winston sill

SEVERAL PERSONS GOT closer to the action at the Circo Hnos Suarez during Friday night's second show than they had bargained for when they drew near to the big tent topped by multi-coloured lights outside Stadium East, St. Andrew.

The clowns plucked members of the audience from their seats for a howl and a cackle, as well as children for a rip-roaring ride on an imaginary bicycle.

And some of the young ones even got to touching range of Big Boy the giraffe, as they were invited to stand at the edge of the circus ring and feed the gentle animal.

Globe of death

Of course, while there was audience participation, the bulk of the action was provided by the members of the circus troupe, who twisted, climbed, balanced, leapt, somersaulted, flew through air, pedalled and revved bike engines for the climactic 'Globe of Death' ending. In that nail-biting act, four trail bike riders from Columbia whizzed within inches of each other inside a small metal oval, going upside down and riding with one hand as the members of audience roared.

Ian the Clown selected members of the audience for his own imaginary production, working without words right through as he used one man for a hat rack. He used hats to select four members of the audience, three men and a woman, instructing them in their roles in the love triangle in mime.

And the action was to be started by a red-beret, bottom-scratching director.

The 'hat-rack' from the audience got into the ring the second time Ian came out, as the clown led him on a merrily floating trip to an oversized tombstone, to which he was cuffed. A black bag was then used to cover his head as Ian pretended to throw knives at him, somebody near the trapped victim sticking the knives beside his legs and head and the bag then removed for him to see where they were.

It got even better when the clown put an inflated orange balloon first at the victim's mouth (he spat out the piece between his teeth), then on his head (it would not stay put) and then between his legs. There were howls of laughter as the young man flexed his knees and made it fall out, but that only caused the clown to put a red container to collect any fluid that might be produced in fright and replaced the balloon, more firmly this time.

And a small axe was used for the balloon, the young man looking downward with his head still covered as the balloon burst, with an accompanying outburst of laughter from the audience.

See an additional report on the circus in today's Gleaner.