Chapter 2
1986-1990

Fool Time began life as a training course for would-be cirque performers, based in St Agnes Church, on the edge of the M32 in St Paul's.

Five founder members apply for Enterprise Allowance - as NoFit State Circus

Techniquest on Wikipedia
Techniquest website
NoFit State liaised with Techniquest several times. Techniquest were involved with making science props for The Defective Detective (1992).
Publicity photos for Alice (1996) were taken in the Mirror Maze (see above), and in The Ames Room.
They also influenced Sci-Circus (2002).

The poster dates from 1987 - celebrating the 1st birthday of Meltdown.

You can hear Ali Williams and Paul Clarke (with Toby) chatting about those days - when they met up on 16 Sept 2015, in John Street.

Below is a quote from an earlier conversation, which appears on both the Theatre In Wales site, and on the birthday site.

"Meltdown began in the tiny downstairs bar at Chapter Arts Centre in 1986, and within months a bunch of five wastrels and vagabonds – Ali, Tom, Pete, Richie and Dave Id - styling themselves ‘Balls Up Jugglers’ started using our open stage to fling objects around - clubs, balls, beer glasses, knives ... Tables directly in front of the stage mysteriously emptied - just the odd tumbleweed rolling past. And then, as Meltdown experimented with gigs in the Theatre upstairs, the jugglers mounted unicycles, played with fire, mutated into No Fit State Circus and grew more and more ambitious and deluded. We’ll buy a giant circus tent, they thought. We’ll harness the skills of the whole community for ambitious circus and multi-media spectaculars. We’ll tour the world, to great acclaim, as an insanely innovative and creatively radical circus/theatre collective, winning awards and hearts wherever we go..."

For more of this conversation, visit the Timeline entry in Chapter 5, for the shared 20th Birthday Party in Nov 2006.

NoFit State Circus and Meltdown - from the Theatre in Wales website

The Meltdown 20th Birthday Party website, includes the same chat (as quoted) between Paul Clarke and Ali Williams

The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up by the United Kingdom Government on 3 April 1987 to redevelop one sixth of the area of Cardiff to create Cardiff Bay.

Company wins Welsh Community Business Award of £500

Download a picture of the comedy version of the award ceremony.

Risky In Pink and The Dangerous Duo perform for councils and festivals across Britain

NoFit State Circus ran a workshop at the first British Juggling Convention, on the Saturday - Patterns in Passing

Colombo Street Sports Centre, London, SE1 8DP

Dangerous Duo did knife-throwing routine in the public show - with Dave Id dressed as Uncle Sam, and Ali as Nick Aragua - he threw knives at her, and she caught them and threw them back.

Toured “Every Witch Way But Up”, round 24 Glasgow Housing estates

From an article in Jugglers World, by Graham Ellis, Fall 1988.

"Juggling for Peace in Nicaragua these last three years has provided me with experiences beyond my wildest fantasies. As a juggler in a country like Nicaragua, one finds oneself in a very privileged situation. I've been able to go places and to meet people that most visitors rarely see. I've met everyone from wounded orphans to well-armed contras, and found they all love to laugh and open up their lives to the clown or juggler who brings them fun and joy amidst the traumas of war.

I doubt somehow that I will ever receive a higher compliment than the appreciation shown to us last year when the head of a village defence militia told us that during our show he and his comrades had finally been able to forget the war for a few minutes. It was the village where Benjamin Linder had lived. How inspired and humbled I now feel to have seen the work that Ben, our brother juggler for peace, had accomplished. It wasn't a world juggling record that brought Ben international honors and respect, but his commitment to the process for peace and progress for the Nicaraguan people. [...] "While in Nicaragua this year, Jugglers for Peace received an invitation from the director of the Cuban circus to perform for a month at an international circus festival in Havana next August. "

ASW see NoFit State Circus perform The Pantomime and offer a sponsorship deal of £5000 towards putting together a new show - "Every Witch Way But Up".

Ali invited to perform in Cuban international circus festival

The Dodo head, that was later used in the NoFit State show Dodo Island (in 1993) was originally made for Circus Burlesque for their 1989 show Alice in Wonderland, shown here and worn by Julian Wisdom. The Head was bought from Burlesque as the company folded at the end of 1990. Also purchased was the 'fun to put up' tiered seating, floor cloths, the knife box and trolley, the Substitution Trunk and probably a few more things going for a song.

Pete and Richie 'moonlight' as part of the Circus Moon show at the Half Moon theatre in London.

ASW give us another £5000 to produce ‘A Wish Washes Whiter’, which tours in Arts Play Umbrella tent for 20 weeks across the UK.

Heineken International Street Entertainers contest

Workshop programme in Cardiff