October 7, 2005
By Buhle Makabane
ROLL up, roll up. The Big Top is heading to town, the last time it'll dazzle the city of gold for some years to come.
The Moscow Circus is expected back in Johannesburg early next year, boasting new performers, a new programme and a new identity, following a sponsorship from Southern Sun.
For next year's run it will be called the Southern Sun Great Moscow Circus.
However, producer Michael Edgley said it would be the last time the circus would come to South Africa for many years, because of a huge demand from other countries.
This week fans got a taste of what the upcoming shows will be like, when a skywalk was performed on Wednesday, 6 October at the launch of the forthcoming nationwide tour, at Montecasino in Fourways.
They cheered and gasped in equal measure as the daredevil, risk-taking Laslo Simet skywalked 120 metres - with no safety net or wires.
The 16mm thick cable he walked along was stretched between Montecasino's famous clock tower and another building, and a circus spokesman said Simet's performance was regarded as the most dangerous of all.
Laszlo Simet walks 120m without a wire or safety net
The circus acts next year will include trampoline, clowns, bike brilliance, duo and fast-track acrobats, aerial flyers, the globe of death, a vertical trapeze, poodles on parade, high wire and drum acts, jugglers, Russian swings and a live orchestra.
About 75 circus performers will be part of the tour, featuring acts from Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as cities in China, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Belarus and South Korea.
South Africans will also participate in laying the groundwork for the circus.
"[At] last year's event we discovered that there was a vast depth of talent and interest from South Africans and we began to use more of them to help us," said executive producer Fred Hunter.
"[South Africans] exhibit the same passion and can-do attitude that we are used to at home."
The South African teams will help build the set and do the production, which means fewer imports and more jobs for local people.
"When we came here we quickly discovered marketing, public relations, publicity and advertising support and a host of other people on the ground, from the transport companies to electricians and plumbers who could replace the people who previously toured with us," Hunter said.
"Traditionally, all our advertising was created in Australia but this year it has been locally made, with the event organising advertising agency travelling to Moscow to film and get a feel of the circus."
And if you think you have seen it all, think again, because next year there will be an entirely new show.
"The biggest feat for me was to produce a two-hour spectacular that had no repeats from last year," Edgley said.
"While organising the circus there were lots of technical matters that needed to be addressed, too.
"We commissioned a new air-conditioning system and we are in the process of building new sitting, angled higher to afford a clearer view of the performance ring."
There will be a traditional circus band and new sound and lighting systems will be installed at a cost of more than R3-million.
The show will begin in Johannesburg, at Montecasino, with two charity performances on 12 and 13 January, and will be opened to the public on 14 January, running until the end of February.
It will then kick off on a countrywide tour, travelling to Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
Tickets for the Montecasino show range from R110 to R270 for adults and R65 to R170 for children. Tickets are available at Computicket, and bookings can be made by telephone on 083 915 8000 or online on the Computicket website.
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