Street cred

THE daring young woman on the flying trapeze, 29year-old Australian Ali Weaver, is part of the main circus highlight at this year's Stockton International Riverside Festival (Sirf).

She's a member of the tongue-incheek entitled No Fit State Circus who will perform inside a spaceship-shaped tent in Stockton's Trinity Gardens from tomorrow. Weaver is the woman overhead as a 20-strong cast links the traditional ring skills with contemporary theatre.

She plays a character called Rosa in a film noir plot called Immortal based around life and death and what she calls "the absurdity and creativity of the circus".

"It's the only business I know where people will spend hours learning how to balance eggs on a chopstick, " she explains, having moved across to the circus from contemporary dance in Australia.

"I started running my own theatre company in Australia and one of my friends joined the circus and I became interested in a 'dancing in the air' project because I've always liked heights.

"Then I thought I'd better learn some trapeze skills before someone got hurt, " adds Weaver who confessed she was a bit gung-ho at the start of her circus career.

"When you see friends fall and break their backs as a result of small simple mistakes it wake you up to the potential dangers. I've worked with some consummate professionals who teach you the measures that will save your life."

Even so, Weaver recalls a recent test of faith when she had under two minutes to find a black safety rope in pitch darkness "while wearing a black dress and high heels" before plunging off a platform.

"I recall thinking 'this is crazy', " she laughs.

Weaver is in demand around the world because she can work with ropes, cloud-swings (ropeswinging), stilts and hula-hoops as well as having the trade of rigger.

"None of this comes naturally to women but once you've done the hard work of developing the right sets of muscles it's easy to stay in shape, " she explains.

The trapeze artist says that she heard about Stockton's Festival before leaving the land down under. "Quite a few of my friends have travelled over here to take part in street theatre and they've told me how successful the festival has become."

As the Riverside Festival enters its 17th year, artistic director Frank Wilson feels that the event rivals anything else held in Britain - main rivals here being Brighton and Manchester - and tops the pecking order in Europe.

"I think we're the event with the street cred which is why we've attracted so many world premieres this year and strengthened our links with Beijing, " he explains.

Wilson hopes that the 2.8m Beijing area of Chaoyang will host Stockton performers in February next year and is currently working on acts which will take Sirf up to 2007.

"That will take me to 20 years, when it might be time to think about a halt, " he jokes.

After last weekend's music events, the streets around Stockton will come alive from today with mind-blowing entertainment.

Dutch company The Lunatics stage Wandermen involving four men, 19 babies and a ferris wheel; Spanish company Los Impertibles allow people to set underneath a stage in Parish Gardens to watch contemporary dance; Green Dragon Yard sees Avanti Display with Mr Lucky's Birthday Party and Neighbourhood Watch Stilts International and all-female acrobalance act Mimbre takes to the streets.

World premieres include French company Friches Theatre Urbain performing a modern-day Macbeth in the High Street tomorrow at 9.30pm and 9pm on Saturday.

Germany's Labyrinth will use circus acts with a crane and water tank in the High Street at 7pm tomorrow and 1.45pm and 9pm on Sunday.

They'll also be a Solvenian multimedia street show linked to football while Chinese artists will use a Kung Fu-style routine to launch the European Dragonboat event at the nearby Tees Barrage on Friday.

One of the highlights will be Saturday's noon Community Carnival and Parade on the High Street with this year's theme being Crinolines In The Jungle.

On Sunday, around 30,000 are expected to attend a massive Ballroom Blitz in the High Street as fireworks greet the festival's finale.

From today onwards a 1,100 square metre inflatable labyrinth of tunnels and domes can be toured in Trinity Gardens between noon and 7pm.

Fringeworld takes place in the Saddlepsan Tent, which seats 800 people, in Trinity Gardens over four days from today with more than 40 sets featuring music from Teesside, the UK and the world. All gigs are free.

There are no fringe performances in Green Dragon Yard but the adjoining Georgian Theatre opens its doors tomorrow for a Twisted Special and runs Jazzaction over the weekend.

Stockton's Arc joins the party with Tioep, a contemporary dance piece, featuring youth groups and professionals tonight at 7.30pm.

Admission is free.

Shutterbugs are back, allowing festival-goers to download digital camera and/or mobile phones pictures of the events to plasma screens at Arc. £1 single use cameras can be collected and returned to Arc between 10am and 5pm for the cost of £1.

For more details on events go to www. sirf. co. uk or www. fringefestival. co. uk

Tickets for No Fit State Circus are £10 (£7.50 concessions) on 0870 126 1711.

Published: 29/07/2004