Anything Goes: Fossett's Circus

Anything Goes: Fossett's Circus

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Details

Location

Carrickfergus

Year

1968

Date

Production 17/07/1968

Length

17min 11sec

Audio

mute, sound

Format

16mm

black and white

Source

Digitised as part of the UTV Archive Partnership Project (ITV, Northern Ireland Screen and PRONI)

Courtesy

Department for Communities, ITV, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, UTV Archive

Rights Holder

ITV

It is illegal to download, copy, print or otherwise utilise in any other form this material, without written consent from the copyright holder.

Description

Charlie Witherspoon reported in 1968 for the UTV series “Anything Goes” on the famous Fossett’s Circus. The tradition of circuses has evolved much over time as opinions changed towards the use of animals. However, at this stage, they were an important part of the fabric of life, providing entertainment for generations, before television and other pastimes eroded their importance. This snapshot of circus life in the late 60s gives us an important glimpse of what life on the road was like for the performers who talk to Charlie about their experiences. We also get to go behind the scenes of clowns putting on their make-up and witness the performances themselves inside the big top. Circuses were once famously billed as “the greatest show on Earth” and, whatever we think of them today, this film stands as an important social history study of how we were entertained in the past.

Credits

An Ulster Television Production.
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