The Flying Aces’, a trapeze act gets a loud applause after their performance and after seeing the show it is almost as though they need more height, regularly touching the ceiling of the tent during their performance.

 

Not surprisingly one of the Aces’ Craig Litherland learnt gymnastics when he was a child, what is surprising is the career path he had before joining the circus, back in his home country Australia: “When I was a lot younger I did gymnastics for a couple of years, I probably did it seriously for a total of four. I then had a big break, I went into the workforce and I was an accountant but then needed something to do, which was then when I found the recreational theatre. I already had a bit of a background because of the gymnastics so it probably made me learn a little quicker than some, but when I got my first contract I obviously wasn’t up to the standards yet of those in the circus for say six years.”

 

Craig did join up to recreational circus classes, quite late compared to most people who are usually raised in the circus and taught by their parents.  After two years he got his first contract, a stark contrast compared to his job as an accountant where the only physical risks are possible wrist strain from all that number crunching: “We’ve had a few accidents, we perform at about 30 foot and all we have is a small net to save us, things happen, there are five of us and we need to work hard to make sure things go right.

 

“My worst accident was a couple of years ago, I was catching a double layout and I ended up over rotating and coming out, landing on my shoulder upside down. I severed one of my tendons and it took me about four months to recover.”