Bookings are now open for the international live performances combining circus skills, music, theatre, dance and spoken word being presented in Bristol from October 9 – 30 during Circus City – the UK’s leading festival of contemporary circus.
Acts taking part in the biennial festival’s 2025 edition include performers from Sweden, Belgium, France, Spain, Lithuania, Germany, and the USA alongside a host of UK and Bristol artists. The full line-up can be viewed at www.bristolcircuscity.com.
Among the headliners will be:
- ARMOUR (October 9 and 10, Arnolfini – from Belgium, the UK premiere of a show inspired by wrestling matches and gladiator battles and using dance, balance and hand-to-hand acrobatics to explore issues of masculinity.
- MENTIR LO MINIMO, (October 18, Malcolm X Centre) – the Spanish acrobatics duo Cie Alto Gama push bodies to the limit with the aid of a push bike.
- OUT OF THE BOX (October 27, 1532 Performing Arts Centre at Bristol Grammar School) – winner of the Best Family Show award at this year’s Brighton Festival, a laugh-out-loud, display of visual and physical comedy expertise from Darryl Carrington (UK).
- ROLLERCOASTER (October 29 & 30, Circomedia) – cutting edge tricks performed against a pop punk soundtrack from Wes Peden (USA), widely recognised as one of the world’s best and most inventive jugglers.
Festival director Nicole A’Court Stuart says: “For 2025, Circus City is taking Bodies of Care as its over-arching theme, inviting audiences to explore circus work that embeds practices of care into the way it is made and performed, and what it says. From hand-to-hand and bike acrobatics, hair hanging and contortion, to clowning, aerial silks, street dance on a giant treadmill, and some of the most complex and ingenious juggling in the world – we’ll look at caring as a strategy for survival, for resistance, for joy and as the basis for brilliant and inclusive circus work.”
Standard tickets start at £18, with generous discounts for students, children, State pensioners and those experiencing financial hardship, with bookings open now at www.bristolcircuscity.com. The website also gives information on how to book a festival pass, granting access to all 12 shows.
Video Link: https://vimeo.com/1101477109
Main Image: Coutesy of Circus City
This post was last modified on August 1, 2025 6:41 am