Circus Takes Step into Unknown with Winter Shows to Recoup Pandemic Losses - CircusTalk

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Circus Takes Step into Unknown with Winter Shows to Recoup Pandemic Losses

The 150-year-old Tom Duffy’s Circus nearly went out of business during lockdown.

The cast of Tom Duffy’s Circus in which has begun touring Ireland again with a show in Drogheda (Niall Carson/PA)

The ringmaster of one of Ireland’s oldest circuses has broken with tradition to stage big tent shows during the winter in a bid to recoup huge pandemic losses.

David Duffy, of Tom Duffy’s Circus, admitted the 150-year family business was close to going bust during lockdown as it struggled for almost 16 months to secure state support.

After 19 months without performing, Duffy’s Circus is finally back on the road, albeit its audiences are still subject to the continuing Covid-19 restrictions.

Mr Duffy, who is the circus’s managing director, said the Co Meath business could not wait until the spring for the start of the traditional season and is instead stepping into the unknown with winter and Christmas shows.

“We’re trying to be as positive as possible,” he told the PA news agency.

“We’re nowhere near out of the woods yet.

“We’re opening at the time of the year when we shouldn’t be open. We never would be open in November.

“But we have to be open now and then we‘re going to do Christmas for the first time.”

He added: “This is all unknown. These are unknown waters for us because we don’t know what the business will be like at this time of the year because we’ve never done it before.”

Read the Full Article at the Belfast Telegraph

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