“We’re landing in Beckenham Place Park in our 500-seater big top – which is heated,” laughs company founder and artistic director Luke Hallgarten. He’s a juggler in the show, and also its writer and director.
Acrobats, a teeterboard trio, tightrope moonwalkers and clowns have all been promised as part of the show, but don’t expect any Christmas hats or sing-alongs. “We want to be inclusive of everyone, including people of all faiths,” explains Luke of his show, which is described on the company website as ‘call to arms to care for each other’. “For example, Hanukkah falls at the same time as Christmas this year. We’d never want to alienate anyone. We’re thinking about what this kind of experience offers to all people – coming together, embodying community, and valuing those that you love,” he adds.
Yep, this is not your typical commercial circus, rather one that operates as a collective and has built its foundation on morals. “We wanted to make circus that celebrated the human condition without sacrificing the universality and democratic nature of the experience,” Luke tells me. He founded the east London-based company with a group of circus-trained friends back in 2018.
“Creating work for a Big Top, outside of traditional performance spaces, is at the heart of what we do. Our first impulse is making stuff. We borrowed an old tent and a truck, and got our first big break in the form of a grant from Waltham Forest, when it was the London Borough of Culture, to make a show and bring it there for the community.”
Most of the performers – the ‘Pucks’ – in the company, who are aged between their early 20s to mid 30s, came up through the London Youth Circus. “The academic side of things never really hit home for many of us. It’s really thanks to proper outreach programmes that we’re able to do what we do,” says Luke, who went on to study at the National Centre for Circus Arts in London and then at a circus school in France, before getting his first professional gig working for Welsh company NoFit State Circus. “I toured with them for a number of years. That’s where I really learned about the nature of tented touring,” he says.
As the name suggests – ‘revel’ meaning to enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, and ‘Puck’ being the English fairy famous for mischievous pranks and practical jokes – the company’s morals don’t override their aim to create fun, exciting work.
“It’s homegrown, there’s really something for everyone in it, not just something to make kids scream. It embodies the spirit of community and bringing people together. It’s non-verbal, it’s high tricks,” Luke reflects.Is there a show-stopper stunt? “It’s the ending that seems to touch people the most, but I can’t tell you what that is; you’ll have to come and see the show!”
What he will tell me is that the show is staged in-the-round, with a cast of nine performing their daredevil stunts and a further 11 company members behind the scenes ensuring everything runs smoothly and the audience has the best possible experience with it.
“It’s very much an ensemble show. Everyone gets their moment to highlight their specific skill, but the big thing for us is it’s a big group of people working together to make something extraordinary happen,” says Luke, circling back to the whole community drive behind Rebel Puck Circus’s work.
Despite the company’s community outlook, the physical nature of any circus can still be a dangerous business for its performers. “We minimise accidents as much as we can, but we can’t pretend it’s not a risky thing that we do,” says Luke, evenly. “Part of that is making sure we hire professional artists who are at the peak of their profession and understand the risks, and also ensuring there’s enough training time in the day: [circus performers] are athletes so require athletes’ training.”
There’s an unlikely secret ingredient in the mix helping them along, apparently: “On-site catering and making sure people have the nutrition they need, because it’s quite specific,” Luke reveals.
While the catering is for the performers, audience members are being looked after too. An onsite bar is selling the usuals, including candyfloss, popcorn and festive drinks, and there’s jerk chicken and a vegan equivalent for those who arrive craving something more substantial.
Ultimately. “the show is a celebration of fear and the idea that for us to learn and progress, we have to work through our fears,” says Luke. “We hope it’s a message people identify with, but we also want audiences to take away a sense of joy, resonance and hope.”
The Wing Scuffle Spectacular is showing at Beckenham Place Park, Beckenham Hill Road, BR3 1SY. December 15 – January 8, performance times vary but last two hours including a 20-minute interval. Admission: £17/£13 concessions. www.thealbany.org.uk/shows/the-wing-scuffle-spectacular/
