2018 is the 250th Anniversary of the world’s fi rst modern circus. The initial event took place in London in April 1768.
With his wife, Sgt-Major Philip Astley ‘late of His Majesty’s Dragoon Guards’ gave displays of trick-riding in an open fi eld known as Ha’penny Hatch in Lambeth. Meeting with instant success, Astley added rope-walkers, acrobats and a clown to his programme, and the circus was born!
With their young son the couple took their new entertainment on tour in England and Ireland and introduced the circus to Paris audiences. They also opened a permanent London circus, Astley’s Amphitheatre.
The circus is now a major feature of popular culture across the world, and in our own 31st year, Jay Miller’s Circus is proud to be part of and contribute too, this major celebration, becoming part of the ongoing history of the world’s most universal and accessible art-form!
