Circus Folk

Everyone loves the circus. Fire breathers, clowns, death defying feats of derring-do, sideshow alley – what’s not to like?

I remember my first after my appetite was whetted reading Enid Blyton’s Hurrah for the Circus series as a wee tacker.
It was Silvers Circus, fronted by TV personality-come-ringmaster Tommy Hanlon (remember him? From Pot O’ Gold with Bernard King?)  
Sprawling somewhere in the back blocks of Oakleigh (a Melbourne outer suburb), we could see the elephants in the paddock as we looked for a park. I was jumping out of my skin at the thought if seeing the animals, now not so PC, the flying trapeze artists, all bathed in the glare of the footlights... It was loud noisy fun.
Save for one or two die-hard companies like Silvers, the ‘old school’ circus is hard to come by these days.  
They have transformed into outfits like Circus Oz, Cirque Du Soleil, the Flying Fruit Flies, or my fave, the Jim Rose Circus (more at the freakshow end of the spectrum).
Suffice to say, nowadays we look elsewhere for our carnies and thrills.
This weekend Star Cinema steps into the breach with a circus night at Eaglehawk’s grand old dame of a Town Hall, which has been home to a local cinema – on and off – for the best part of a century.
Operating as a non-profit community-owned project since April 2005, Hannah Morton is the Star’s program manager – a bit of a carnie herself.
Both she and business manager Sonja Gibbons job-share running the venue, which she says, still, after all these years of serving the local community, “runs off the smell of an oily rag”.
“It’s our fundraisers and special events that mostly keep us going,” she adds.
“Regular attendance, loyalty, word of mouth – these are the things that keep us afloat”.
And a bit of ingenuity. To make the most out of their season of Water For Elephants – the latest circus film which just happens to come with rave reviews – Hannah and Sonja have cooked up a flying fundraiser.
From 6.30pm tomorrow (Saturday) night the Star will transform into a big top for one night only.
The program will feature a “circus-inspired atmosphere”, food, the film of course, and local acrobats.
“We’ve got the No Fear Circus… They’re a group of hugely talented local youth who can do all sorts of crazy things with their bodies!” ,Hannah explains, excited.
A “slideshow of great circus images” will also grace the cinema’s screen, while patrons tuck into a sit down two-course meal of winter fare.
When you think about it, perhaps cinema is our modern-day circus, or at least one of the ways we as a community can watch a thrilling spectacular and share experience.
Kinda rare in this age of  the individual. Which makes Hannah our local ring master – or mistress – one who provides an alternative spectacular given the arthouse and international movies she programs at the Star.
“I think there would be a gaping hole in the cultural centre of Bendigo if the Star wasn’t around,” she says.
“I think our patrons feel a sense of involvement with the Star, even if they only come occasionally.
“We need people to come whenever they can and support film and independence in the arts.”
You heard the lady. Roll up roll up.  The circus is in town.  
It’s not only your chance to have some fun, it’s also the opportunity to keep our own local big top alive, hopefully for generations to come.

Saturday, June 18, 6.30pm, $45/$40. Bookings essential: 54462025.
www.starcinema.org

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