Aussie circus stars livin' on a prayer

Pants Down Circus performers are throwing themselves, literally, into the World Buskers Festival.

The crew of four Australian performers have brought their family-friendly show to Christchurch for the first time and their audiences are thunderstruck.

Pants Down Circus will have their audiences thunderstruck.

It’s a fun-filled blend of clowning, acrobatics, trapeze, juggling and hula hoops with a soundtrack of classic 1980s rock, from AC/DC to Aerosmith and Bon Jovi, that keeps parents entertained while their kids watch the “livin’ on a prayer” physical feats unfold on stage.

Pants Down Circus performer Josh Phillips trained at the CircoArts circus school in Christchurch about a decade ago and says it feels great to be coming back with a successful show. “I performed here [in the Christ’s College auditorium Buskers Club] in this venue when I was at circus school and it looks exactly the same.”

The World Busker’s Festival is well-supported by the local community, Josh says. “Some of the other places we’ve performed you wouldn’t even know the festival was on, but this one takes over the city.”

Idris Stanton, who is the clown of the group, also studied here at CircoArts. “To go away for 10 years and perform around the world and then to get invited back here to perform is just an absolute blessing, and I feel so honoured.”

He’s a rock music fan who used to put on classic rock while the group rehearsed. Then they realised the full-throttle 80s music they enjoyed training to was the perfect theme for their show and a huge crowd pleaser. “Parents can bring their kids along and they get the nostalgia and the kids get the comedy and everyone enjoys the circus in between,” Idris says. “Rock is a theme that hits home with us, and hits home with our audiences.”

The other members are Caz Walsh, who describes herself as the “flyer”, and strong woman Hannah Cryle. All four members helped to create the show as well as performing in it.

The Pants Down Circus name is something silly that appeals to children and shows their approach is to have fun. “We don’t want people to take us too seriously,” Josh says.

Josh and Idris are also performing in street shows as the Circus Firemen and Hannah has her Big Wheel Show.

The World Buskers Festival runs until January 29, with a line-up of over 500 shows in 10 days including international headline acts, local comedy stars, colourful street performers and burlesque legends.

• Pants Down Circus: ROCK! is at the Buskers Club, Christ’s College, every night until Saturday January 28 at 5.45pm. Suitable for all ages. See website for bookings.