Friday 27 July 2012

Video of the Week: Flying Karamazov Brothers


In 1981 I saw juggling troupe 'The Flying Karamazov Brothers', from the west coast of America, at the Mayfair Theatre in London. I decided there and then to become a juggler, and spent the next three months trying to find someone who could teach me the basic three ball cascade. Then someone (who?) placed a small ad in Time Out offering lessons, and I learnt in their front room.

Today Tom Noddy, the bubble man, drew my attention to a video of past and present members of the FKBs performing at this year's Oregon Fair. I'd been looking for a suitable video to start a 'Video of the  Week', so what could be more suitable than eight minutes of iconic club passing and patter ("it's still more fun than a unicorn in a balloon factory"):


Tuesday 24 July 2012

Gandini jugglers elsewhere in London next week

Not only do the Gandini's have a load of shows at the National Theatre, see my previous post, but next week they're also taking part in the Mayor of London's Showtime season of excellent outdoor entertainment that's visiting every London borough

You can see their show 'Smashed', amidst other top outdoor acts between noon and the late afternoon, as follows:
Mon 30 July: Kensington & Chelsea, Exhibition Road
Tue 31 July: Hammersmith & Fulham, Lyric Square
Thu 2 August:  Lambeth, Clapham Common

To see who else in on in the Showtime season, click on the borough of choice and a pop up appears on the map with the venue details, then click on the 'Line Up' tab next to that.





Monday 23 July 2012

Gandini Jugglers at National Theatre this week


London based Gandini Juggling are, in the eyes of many, the greatest juggling company in the world at the moment. They're just back from a mega tour of France and Italy, and I urge you to see them from Tuesday to Sunday at the National Theatre in the free Watch This Space outdoor series.

They're doing an amazing range of shows in the week, including a new one Twenty/Twenty with no fewer than 20 professional jugglers. Something you may never get the chance to see again! I'd really recommend also seeing their 'The Sweet Life' and 'Smashed' shows.

Not only are Gandini Juggling performing, but members of the company are showing their own work, which again are totally worth seeing. I'll name check the German duo 'Spot the Drop' as another must-see.

Not only is there the chance to watch the maestros at work, there's the chance to learn from them as they're running a free juggling workshop each day too, with limited spaces so I suggest you book online 

Here's an easy to print list of what's on when (GJ = Gandini Juggling):

Tuesday 24th
13.00 GJ Smashed short version
13.30 GJ Workshop
15.30 GJ Sauce and Spit - The Gandini Sailors

Wed 25th
13.00 GJ The Sweet Life
13.30 GJ Workshop
15.00 Juggling Solos 1
14.00 Spot the Drop and Quartet
17.00 Juggling Solos 2
17.30 GJ Workshop
18.15 GJ Smashed full version

Thur 26th

13.00 GJ Smashed short version
13.30 GJ Workshop
15.00 GJ Sauce and Spit - The Gandini Sailors
16.00 Juggling Solos 1
17.00 Juggling Solos 2
17.30 GJ Workshop
18.30 GJ The Sweet Life

Fri 27th
13.00 GJ The Sweet Life
13.30 GJ Workshop
15.00 Juggling Solos 1
16.00 Spot the Drop and Quartet
17.00 Juggling Solos 2
17.30 GJ Workshop
18.15 GJ Smashed full version

Sat 28

13.00 GJ Twenty/Twenty
15.00 GJ Sauce and Spit, Juggling Solos 1
15.30 GJ Workshop
16.30 Spot the Drop, Juggling Solos 2
17.00 Juggling Workshop
17.30 GJ Smashed short version
18.45 The Sweet Life
22.00 Twenty/Twenty

Sun 29
13.00 GJ Twenty/Twenty
14.00 Juggling Solos 1
14.30 GJ Workshop
15.30 Spot the Drop and Quartet
16.00 GJ Workshop
17.00 Juggling Solos 2
17.30 GJ Workshop
18.15 Smashed full version
22.00 Twenty/Twenty

I'm exhausted just typing out the list. I shudder to think how shattered the company will be by the end of the week.

Sunday 22 July 2012

More useful than the Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph has an 'In the Know - London Lifestyle' column and today's question was:
Are there any circus schools or juggling clubs in London for adults?

Their answer lists three places to go - Circus Space, Aircraft Circus and Gorilla Circus Flying Trapeze School - but not a single one of these has an adult juggling workshop.

As it happens I've just put up a list of London Juggling Workshops which will hopefully prove more useful to the Daily Telegraph's readers wanting to juggle than the paper they read.

Friday 20 July 2012

Preparing for a new London juggling workshop

There are no juggling workshops immediately south of the Thames at the moment. But that changes this September when Southbank Jugglers new workshop opens up at the new Black Prince Community Hub between Kennington Road and the Albert Embankment.

Details of this workshop, which is free for the first two months thanks to funding from the Mayor of London's Freesport scheme, can be found on the Thursday Workshop page.

While waiting for September to arrive, make sure to check out the fantastic juggling shows, including several from the Gandini Juggling Company (one with no fewer than twenty professional jugglers!) outside the Royal National Theatre from Tuesday 24th to Sunday 28th July. Details are on the National Theatre website