Free outdoor circus comes to Blackpool this weekend
15 October 2015
by Visit Blackpool
Circus Street will see performers and street artists wow audiences with shows set to live music and light on Friday and Saturday evening (16 and 17 October).
Artists include Acrojou who blend acrobatics, hand-built structures and sublime visuals in their shows Frantic and Lifted, to create unique circus experiences. Also performing over the weekend will be the Secret Opera Singers who will provide musical interludes that will surprise audiences as they appear unexpectedly.
There will be two performances of Frantic and Lifted each evening at 6pm and 8pm which will run for around twenty minutes.
Both nights will also see the return of Impossible Theatre’s LightWeight installation which intrigued audiences on Birley Street last Friday evening. LightWeight is a 360˚ projection globe that invites audiences to have their picture mapped into live animations swarming around the globe alongside movies, audio, graphic effects, pictures, text and even tweets.
The shows are the latest events in Blackpool Illuminations’ new LightPool project, which is revolutionising the display with new creative content and shows throughout the town centre.
Cllr Gillian Campbell, Deputy Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Everyone loves a circus and this promises to be a fantastic event in a unique location.
“LightPool is bringing a whole new approach to Blackpool Illuminations season and I hope people are enjoying the events.”
Artistic Director of LeftCoast, Michael Trainor, said: “Circus Street brings contemporary street performance to Brilliance this weekend, the like of which is normally reserved for Showzam! Acrojou are a fantastic, high quality circus company that create really intriguing shows.”
“We’re also really pleased to welcome back LightWeight by Impossible Theatre. The feedback we received last Friday from audiences was fantastic, so much so we felt it was a great idea to bring them back for another two nights – make sure you visit them.”
And Coastal Communities Minister Mark Francois said: “I am delighted we have been able to support Blackpool Illuminations through a £2m grant from the Coastal Communities Fund.
“This investment will help boost the local economy and the Northern Powerhouse. We are committed to help drive investment in the north and helping our seaside communities thrive.”
LightPool is funded through a £2m grant from the Coastal Communities Fund along with contributions from Blackpool Council and LeftCoast.
So far, LightPool has helped to bring the Illuminations to life with an array of light based shows and entertainment.
The stunning new digital mapping projection show on the Blackpool Tower has already been seen by thousands of visitors to the Illuminations.
The shows, which are free to view from the Comedy Carpet, take place every evening, with the displays featuring at least five times a night from Saturday.
At the same time, queues of people have lined up to enjoy the one-off opportunity to have their faces projected on to the Tower building.
In addition to the displays on the Promenade, including the world famous Illuminations, there have been a fantastic series of events entertaining crowds under the Brilliance arches on Birley Street, including “Strictly Night Cycling” – a stunning bike ballet event as well as “LightWeight”, an interactive projection event and “Spark” a brilliant street theatre show starring a group of illuminated drummers.
A series of poetry readings also took place for National Poetry Day on Thursday 8 October.
The next event, on Friday 23 and 24 October will see spectators given the chance to get even more involved – and star in a very special video – when an interactive, illuminated umbrella parade leads people from the Promenade in to Birley Street.
The festival of acts will finish with two special live music sessions as part of Brilliance Sessions, on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October.
On the Friday, a variety of up and coming artists including local bands and solo acts, will perform under the arches, while the Saturday will include DJ acts, breathtaking performance artists and dancers taking over the street as part of a fantastic finale. The events will begin in the afternoons and run into the early evening.
All performances at Brilliance will be free to attend.
For more details and performance times, visit www.visitblackpool.com/lightpool.
For more information on Blackpool Illuminations, visit www.visitblackpool.com/illuminations