REVIEW
GIFFORDS Circus is back this summer with Waterfield, a show rooted firmly in the Cotswold landscape and brimming with charm, nostalgia and quiet magic.
Set inside the company’s distinctive vintage tent at Fennells Farm, Lypiatt, the production leans into an arcadian Cotswold theme, with echoes of The Wind in the Willows.
The space itself is transformed into a gentle pastoral dream: green grass, tall reeds framing the ring and a soft haze of mist lending a poetic calm.
At its heart are the familiar pleasures of Giffords’ storytelling.
Alice Gifford’s turn with her horse and Shetland pony is less spectacle, more intimate woodland vignette — a tender, almost domestic moment that captures the show’s understated tone.
The return of the ever-popular Brian the Goose, adds warmth and continuity.
But Waterfield is far from sleepy.
The pace builds steadily, with moments of real jeopardy threaded through the whimsy.
The Ethiopian Addis Ababa Troupe deliver high-energy acrobatics with precision and flair, while the Valencia Flyers’ Wheel of Death act provides the show’s most gripping sequence — a towering double wheel spun at speed, with performers running, leaping, and, at one point, blindfolded, in a feat that feels perpetually on the brink of disaster.
Music plays a central role throughout.
Jenna Dearness-Dark’s Odette the Singing Swan provides a rich vocal thread, backed by a lively onstage band led by trombonist Rob Taylor.
Their playful, sometimes unexpected arrangements — including versions of Kate Bush and Madness tracks — give the show a contemporary lift without breaking its pastoral spell.
It’s a show that celebrates countryside life without slipping into cliché — and offers a quietly enchanting escape for audiences of all ages.
Giffords Circus tour dates:
- Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire – 08-18 May
- Barrington, Oxfordshire – 09-20 July
- Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucester – 23-27 July
- Minchinhampton Common, Gloucester – 30 July to 10 August
- Marlborough Common, Wiltshire – 13-24 August
- Stratton Meadows, Cirencester – 27 August to 07 September
Fennells Farm, Stroud – 10 – 27 September
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