The Circus of Horrors
It's all done with a forked tongue firmly in cheek. - Dr Haze
| 09 Aug 2007
Roll up! Roll up! If the Edinburgh Festival is one of the greatest shows on Earth, then how better to revel in it than with a good ol' fashioned big top circus?
Sure, there will be plenty of impressive sights in the city over the summer, but for some death-defying shenanigans and breathtaking feats, it's got to be the circus. And for those added delights of freaks, human oddities and cabinets of curiosities, it's got to be the Circus of Horrors' new show, 'Evilution'.
"It's an alternative rock'n'roll circus," undead ringmaster Dr Haze muses to The Skinny. "Equal parts live band, daredevil acts, scary circus and the weird and wonderful.
"We try to be a bit different from some of the other freakshows touring at the moment such as Jim Rose's, which is just one freak after another. We try to mix things up and keep going back to a loose storyline of a young girl's nightmare. But with a forked tongue firmly in cheek."
Born out of a love of horror movies and Marc Bolan, Dr Haze's vision for the ultimately flamboyant rock show came into fruition when he met circus impresario Gerry Cottle and persuaded him to help put on the first Circus of Horrors at Glastonbury in 1995.
"I was born in the circus which I ran away from to join rock'n'roll," laughs Haze. "The band got more and more theatrical and once I started working with Cottle we were able to squeeze more vampires, chainsaws, fire breathers and freaks into the show than anybody could have thought possible."
Working with a close-knit community of performers, previous circuses have seen a man who can stretch his skin to disturbing lengths, up and over his face – even to the extent that he can pull his back out into wings. Unsurprisingly, those of a nervous disposition are warned away, but this is no cheap voyeurism.
"There are these born freaks using their birth defects to their advantage. What's the difference between them working in a circus and being paraded naked in front of physicians examining them?" Dr Haze asks; "except this way they get paid and have fun."
As to where he finds (or digs up) such individuals, Dr Haze says that most find him, being "the most equal employer ever," though he adds that he would like to hold auditions in Edinburgh for potential performers around their shows.
But not all the performers are wandering in search of somewhere they can benefit from their uniqueness; the less unusual have also had their lives changed by the Circus of Horrors. Dr Haze talks proudly about one of the performers in this year's show who first came to see the circus as a tax accountant who hadn't even had his ears pierced: "He turned up 11 years later having completely modified his body and now can be seen sticking spikes through his body and drinking water which then squirts out the holes he just made." Lovely.
"We're always trying to push the boundaries of what we can do," Haze grins in parting. "It's going back to that time when the lion tamer would face a fierce beast with nothing to protect him if it all went wrong."
Sure, there will be plenty of impressive sights in the city over the summer, but for some death-defying shenanigans and breathtaking feats, it's got to be the circus. And for those added delights of freaks, human oddities and cabinets of curiosities, it's got to be the Circus of Horrors' new show, 'Evilution'.
"It's an alternative rock'n'roll circus," undead ringmaster Dr Haze muses to The Skinny. "Equal parts live band, daredevil acts, scary circus and the weird and wonderful.
"We try to be a bit different from some of the other freakshows touring at the moment such as Jim Rose's, which is just one freak after another. We try to mix things up and keep going back to a loose storyline of a young girl's nightmare. But with a forked tongue firmly in cheek."
Born out of a love of horror movies and Marc Bolan, Dr Haze's vision for the ultimately flamboyant rock show came into fruition when he met circus impresario Gerry Cottle and persuaded him to help put on the first Circus of Horrors at Glastonbury in 1995.
"I was born in the circus which I ran away from to join rock'n'roll," laughs Haze. "The band got more and more theatrical and once I started working with Cottle we were able to squeeze more vampires, chainsaws, fire breathers and freaks into the show than anybody could have thought possible."
Working with a close-knit community of performers, previous circuses have seen a man who can stretch his skin to disturbing lengths, up and over his face – even to the extent that he can pull his back out into wings. Unsurprisingly, those of a nervous disposition are warned away, but this is no cheap voyeurism.
"There are these born freaks using their birth defects to their advantage. What's the difference between them working in a circus and being paraded naked in front of physicians examining them?" Dr Haze asks; "except this way they get paid and have fun."
As to where he finds (or digs up) such individuals, Dr Haze says that most find him, being "the most equal employer ever," though he adds that he would like to hold auditions in Edinburgh for potential performers around their shows.
But not all the performers are wandering in search of somewhere they can benefit from their uniqueness; the less unusual have also had their lives changed by the Circus of Horrors. Dr Haze talks proudly about one of the performers in this year's show who first came to see the circus as a tax accountant who hadn't even had his ears pierced: "He turned up 11 years later having completely modified his body and now can be seen sticking spikes through his body and drinking water which then squirts out the holes he just made." Lovely.
"We're always trying to push the boundaries of what we can do," Haze grins in parting. "It's going back to that time when the lion tamer would face a fierce beast with nothing to protect him if it all went wrong."
Circus of Horrors takes place at The Meadows Theatre, Melville Drive, Edinburgh between 6-28 Aug (except 14th).
http://www.circusofhorrors.co.uk