Circus stars bring Belfast streets to life

The last of a circus dynasty and the debut appearance of a new comic talent will bring the streets of Belfast`s Cathedral Quarter alive with their individual brands of entertainment on Sunday 5 Jul).

Barren Carousel and Jitterbug Jackson will have audiences gasping in amazement and howling with hysterical laughter in equal measure when they take to the al fresco stage that is CottonCourt as part of Belfast City Council`s `Summer Sundays` initiative.

Supported by the Department for Social Development and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, `Summer Sundays` sees art galleries, tours, craft fairs and the finest street performers from around the world luring people into the city centre each Sunday afternoon.

This weekend it will be a case of look to the skies with Barren Carousel, as the last remaining members of this 27-generation circus family dazzle with their back-cracking contortions and death-defying aerial feats.

Ravishing Ruby Barren has devoted her life to perfecting her art form and setting impossibly high standards that only she can achieve; her daughter Tulip, a child prodigy, desperately attempts to live up to her mother`s expectations - only to be upstaged by her two left feet. This bandwagon of circus antics rewards high expectations with high level performances - some as high as six metres!

Jitterbug Jackson, meanwhile, makes his debut appearance on the island of Ireland - and what better place than CottonCourt to witness this most versatile of street raconteurs in a boogie-woogie whirlwind of a show, sure to bring a smile to even the most sceptical of folk?

Jitterbug will jive and juggle with all manner of props and paraphernalia: thrill to the blindfold ladder-balance egg challenge, and wheeze to a session of Jitterbuggerobics - all performed to a wonderful musical soundtrack which makes it a must of people of all ages, shapes and sizes.

Barren Carousel will perform at CottonCourt at 1pm and 3pm on Sunday (5 July), and Jitterbug Jackson at 2pm and 4pm.

Among the other artists appearing throughout the rest of July and August are Toot Sweet, with their colourful kaleidoscope of chaos; Wolfegang Glochenspiel, with his world famous classical music performed on bicycle horns while riding a unicycle, and his exposition of classical leek dancing; incredible feats of strength from Betty Brawn; the comedic double act of Jones and Barnard, with their history of variety and variety of history; contemporary comic Maynard Flip Flap and his playful interactive nonsense; the Half Naked Chef and his unique culinary style; clown-on-the-edge Fraser Hooper; Mr Spin, with his digital dexterity; those madcap favourites the Magilligan Family; Leapin` Louie and his extraordinary tricks with a lasso; The S-Factor, generally regarded as `Ireland`s next BoysLife`; and Jardu and the magic of India.

There also will be chances to visit the curiosities and monstrosities at The Alternative Ulster Museum and marvel at the skills of young circus performers at the Caravan of Creativity, and to meet the `queen of cosmetics`, Yvonne Calling.

For full details of performance dates and times, visit www.belfastcircus.com

Also as part of the `Summer Sundays` programme, there are free tours of the Cathedral Quarters art galleries, leaving from Belfast Exposed in Donegall Street at 11am, while other galleries around the city also are opening on Sundays. The Belfast Music Tours leave the Ulster Hall at 2pm each Sunday and take in dozens of musical landmarks around the city before finishing at the Belfast Music Exhibition in the Oh Yeah Centre, in Gordon Street, which will be opening specially on Sundays.

It`s not just the Cathedral Quarter that offers plenty of attractions over the summer months.

You can take tours of the atmospheric Crumlin Road gaol, the city`s political murals, and the shipyard where Titanic was built, follow in the footsteps of C S Lewis, meet birds of prey at the Zoo or living history characters at Queen`s University, enjoy live music in the parks and pulsating drama for all the family.

There will be plenty of special events in August to draw people from near and far into the city, such as the return of the Belfast Taste and Music Festival, the grand finale celebrations of the Tall Ships Festival and the colourful annual Indian Mela celebration in Botanic Gardens.

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