Last Updated on June 16, 2026
Family fun at the circus in Brighton’s summer sun
Before my May Day trip to Brighton, my most recent memory of the circus was from when my age was still in single digits. The fragments that I recall of that experience – the vast, billowing tent swallowing me up, the wild animals peeking out of cages, the trapeze artists dressed in colourful stripes swinging like a pendulum from the sky – are likely as much a mixture of images from old films and childhood dreams as they are representations of the actual event. I associated the circus more with a combination of awe and fear than laughter and conviviality (admittedly, this impression was not helped by being a fan of Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, a film that accompanies scenes of the circus with despairing lines such as “Time will heal everything, but what if time was the disease?”).
So it was with trepidation that I ventured down to Brighton on a hot Thursday evening in May. I took a quick dip in the sea, dried off in the sun, and made my way to The Level for the Revel Puck Circus Gala Night.
Brighton’s The Level is a park with a long history; home to a royal commemoration of the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, a small-scale battle between fascists and counter-protestors in 1948, and the two-month long Brighton Peace Camp to protest against the arrest of 44 women for their role in anti-nuclear demonstrations in 1983. This month, it is home to The Circus Yard, a venue including two Big Top tents and a covered festival bar, hosting a handpicked programme of over 30 circus and cabaret shows taking part in the Brighton Fringe. Based on the performances I witnessed on the Gala Night, it is bound to be a successful summer.
Times have moved on since my childhood circus experience, and there were no animals in this show. Nor were there trapeze artists or high-wire acts. But we were treated to many high-energy, light-hearted and impressive performances, giving a snapshot of what the Fringe has to offer. There were the acrobatics of In This Together, The Nose Dive Assembly, and The Band, the roller-skating hula hoop act from The Rola Circus, the juggling artistry of Behemoth, and then possibly the highlights of the show – the two drag acts by Lucinda B.Hind of She’s B.Hind You and Smooch of United Queendom.
Lucinda B. Hind referenced both the trans and the circus community in her act, the combination of which goes back at least as far as the legendary American circus performer Omar Kingsley, or Ella Zoyara, who began their career in 1840.
Two hundred years ago, the circus was a very different place, a little more like my Wim Wenders-inspired impression I acquired as a child than this one. But the traditions have been continued to this day, continuing to be a counter-cultural space to entertain, challenge, and amaze.
The Revel Puck Circus is family fun, accompanied by a relaxed outdoor bar. When looking for something to do on an evening in May, it would be worth considering the Brighton Fringe.
This season of the Circus Yard at Brighton Fringe runs from 2nd May to 1st June 2025.
Book tickets here.
The Level
Union Road
Brighton and Hove
Brighton BN1 4ZN
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