Kenneth Fall is one half of the incredibly talented Tumble Circus. Along with his partner in circus Tina Segner they have become an international touring professional street theatre company and circus performers.
We chatted to Ken in advance of their show ‘Damn the Circus’ coming to The Civic on Saturday, 8th November.
For people who don’t know the show, can you tell us a little bit about what ‘Damn the Circus’ is about?
Its about how hard it is to make circus, without selling out or giving up. Doing what you want against the odds and having fun.
How did you get interested in circus acts and performing?
I fell into circus, I never wanted to be a performer or an artist, I wanted to be spiderman. Someone taught me to juggle when i was 19 and for a short while I though I had discovered the meaning of the universe, but in reality I was just tossing some balls around but I loved it so I kept doing it and then met other people who did aswell. We would meet in parks and old disused church halls, swap tricks and knowledge. Sometimes there were people who did handstands or who had juggled in circus or who came from Berlin with a trapeze and asked if we wanted a go. And slowly I became sucked into this strange and wonderful world of circus.
Was it hard to break into the industry?
Its not an industry its a community, its not a career its an adventure.
What are the most important traits needed to be successful in your chosen profession?
The ability to pack a van.
What is the biggest challenge you encounter in your job?
Having a small van. I never think of what I do as a job. Its a privilege and I’m lucky to have been born in a European country which because of economics and politics, the arts are supported and people from all walks of life can have the opportunity to engage with the arts. So someone like myself who grew up in Balbriggan with no background or really any interest in the arts, ended up becoming an artist.
Why did you decide to found your own company?
Some people run away with the circus, but we couldn’t find a circus we liked to run away with, so we made our own.
What is a typical day on tour like for the Tumble Circus team?
There is no typical day for Tumble Circus, we have played on the side of active volcanoes, in a Big Top in deserts in 45 degree heat, inside the belly of a giant purple cow, a vintage wooden tent on the banks of the River Thames. And in between all of that we train a lot.
What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
To keep training and keep learning. It was always our goal to reinvent the experience of irish circus, to get people to see our show and imagine a different circus, a more modern, human, circus. We want to make bigger show, tour around Ireland in our own Big Top and take our art to the people and the places that other art doesn’t go.
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Damn the Circus comes to The Civic on Saturday, 8th November 2014. Tickets are on sale now!Phone our box office on 01 4627477 or book online here.
