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Testimonials from Clients

“The Imaginarium,…was a great success, with a colourful tent, attractive equipment to draw in a crowd and a series of  acts which held audiences fascinated,  despite the extreme heat of the Eisteddfod week.  This represents good, virtuoso entertainment, enjoyed by both young and old…”
Mike Law, Organiser of the Field Stage programme 2012-13

*****

“Uncle Tacko and his troop of travelling fleas will have you chuckling in your sleep that night. Never before have I seen such death defying acts of bravery from creatures large or small as from this band of miniscule marvels. But don’t get to close or you may go home with a flea in your ear.”
Anthony Green, Anglesey.

*****

 “…an intimate, exuberantly entertaining show delivered with energy and panache by Uncle Tacko. It is refreshing to see new life breathed into the old Flea Circus. Tacko engages the audience with wit and verve never forgetting the care and duty he has for his minute stars. Under his spell we become part of this touching relationship as his circus fleas amaze us with their strength, agility and death-defying antics. Not for the faint-hearted! Best suited to a family audience with involvement and topical references for all ages. Go see it!”
Gerry Flanagan – Artistic Director, Shifting Sands Theatre & Associate Creative Director, Greentop Circus.

*****

“Everyone knows about the flea circus, but not many of us had actually seen the likes of Hercufleas, the strongman flea, or Tom Dayflea, the high diving flea whose tiny splash sent miniscule droplets of water into the crowd. I loved it – intricate, carefully crafted showmanship of the best kind – and hugely portable/exportable: I hope the flea circus goes global, but not before every festival in Britain has the chance to snap it up.”
Liz Pugh, Walk The Plank.

*****

“…a gigantic thank you…for participating in the Assessment Day on Saturday. You successfully kept it moving, kept people smiling, and ensured all was achieved with energy and motivation.  You were fabulously good spirited,unfazed, and positive – there is no doubt that the candidates will have benefited from your approach, and the rest of us learned a lot from you too..I do hope we have the chance to work together again.”
Lesley Patrick, Collaboration Manager, DARE.

*****

“This summer has taught me so much in terms of myself and what I can handle. I always felt like my improvisation skills were slightly lacking, so being thrown into an environment where I am constantly on the spot was quite intimidating. However, after a summer of this I now feel so much more confident and trusting of myself to be in this situation. I enjoy improvising in a way I never have before and know now that the trust in the preparation work is enough to be put in any situation.”

“Interacting with the public is so completely different to interacting with people in a theatre; the public haven’t paid to be here and haven’t chosen to be around you. This is both a beautiful thing and a difficult thing. Some people find us interesting and are happy to get involved and interact and love the fact this is all free entertainment. However, some people find us strange and do everything they can to ignore and not be involved with it. The moments when you can get the latter category of person involved, even just a laugh, are the moments that feel the best. You’ve made someone who wouldn’t otherwise engage with something feel or do something – how incredible is that?”
Lara.

*****

“This summer was a huge challenge for me.  Performing on stage was nerve racking enough but doing it outside in public was a whole new level. During the rehearsal process, I was stressing about performing in public but found that it wasn’t as nerve racking as I thought. I loved the fact that being on the streets performing you get more people smiling and laughing than you would ever do in a small theatre.

The actual training given over the 10 days was incredible. I definitely gained confidence throughout this whole experience which is going to help me so much with my future career. When I went into this course all I was expecting was to be taught Street Performing. However it offered far far more!

I feel very lucky indeed, as a young person, to be given this amazing opportunity as it’s absolutely going to benefit me in the long run. A huge thank you to The Helen Foundation and Promenade Promotions for making this happen!”
Josh.

*****

“For as long as I can remember performing has been a passion of mine; exploring it through GCSE drama in secondary school and now A-level performing arts in Exeter College, and of course participating in almost every production at my local theatre. Throughout my drama education there has always been a high focus on more stereotypical types of drama (such as performance styles suitable for stage productions only) and has a limited curriculum that builds skills based upon studying it in further education. When discovering the Sunshine Follies traineeship, not only did it offer skills that are desirable towards drama schools or universities (which would be my next educational level) but also certain attributes that are vital for continuing with this type of work and maintaining it as a career – which Tony Lidington (the programme leader) has been doing for the majority of his life. As well as this, it focuses on performance dynamics that highly interest me such as working in a unique and spontaneous performance space, giving the opportunity to be intimate with our audiences and adapt what we are doing in order to please the specific audiences we have on a particular day; making it as memorable and special as we can for the public.

This traineeship programme has been a whirlwind of learning skills, tricks and gags which includes circus training (such as plate spinning, hat tricks, juggling and hula-hooping), stilt walking, routine learning, character development, puppetry and general public interactions. Whilst first engaging in these types of activities I took a fond liking to the circus skills, which I then proceeded into creating a routine to show the public; with the help of Mickey and Tony. One of my favourite aspects about this course is the freedom that is given to you as an individual as well as the responsibility that comes with that luxury; we were taught the fundamental elements that are required to put on a success interaction/ routine/ show, but it is up to us to bring it to life and rely on our previous training to help us through any hiccups that could occur throughout the day.

This course has given me the confidence to approach other theatre companies and explore what else is out there; a current example of this is a Halloween performance job I have booked at a family theme park in Cornwall because I had the courage to show them what I could do and was capable of (through discussing this traineeship). Also, it has taught me skills that are vital for me to have if I want to stay in this industry as a profession.”
The Sunshine Follies.