Chris Barltrop

Classical ringmaster and show director since 1976, working in English and also in French. Actor, artistic director, stage director, writer, circus advocate, Director of the Centre for Circus Culture.  Author and performer of Audacious Mr Astley, a one-man play in which the 'father of the circus' Phillip Astley tells at first hand how the displays of trick-riding he initiated in partnership with his wife Patty Jones led to the development and world-wide spread of the circus.  Among many others, Audacious Mr Astley has been performed at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the Off the Shelf literary festival of Sheffield University; The Discovery Museum, Newcastle Upon Tyne; Bedfringe 2019, Bedford, UK; Watfringe 2020, Watford, UK; and at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe Festival where the show won five-star reviews in 2018 and was invited back for 2019.  Also an award as Best Circus 250 Show of the Year.  At the Budapest Circus Festival 2022, Chris Barltrop will contribute a historical talk on British Circus Buildings from the Earliest Days.  For details of forthcoming performances, see https://www.centreforcircusculture.org/new-page-2 .  Please contact for performances, historical talks, and Q & As.