Chapter 3
1991-1997

Dave went on to form The Splott Brothers and work successfully for many years, both as that double act, and as a solo performer.

more on Dave Id

In addition to benefits, NoFit State sold 'Crisis Bonds' (aka crowd-funding for you 21st Century folks) - in an attempt to raise £15K for a lorry.

Wrote and produced ‘Take a Chance’ to perform and tour in our own Big Top.

Abzurdicus survived for a year (1991) and grew out of the folding of Circus Burlesque and Mummandada and the heady days of early Fooltime Circus School in Bristol. The company's performers included Gregoire and Linda Carel, Chris Hills and Pete Lamb all of whom came to Nofit State the following year for Defective Detective. Also on tour was Roger Woods and heading up the company was Tina Banks whose connection to the UK circus scene precedes even the early days of this archive.

Inside text in the download

Receive first Arts Council Grant for the production of ‘The Defective Detective.’
It is a collaboration with Techniquest (the hands-on science centre) that built 'science awareness' props for the show.

Ali Williams and John Ellingsworth talking about the Valleys Live Festival, Rob Brydon, collaborations with the WNO, Splott State Circus, etc.

Month-long workshop project in collaboration with WNO leading to performance outside St David’s Hall.

Involved 30 children from Adamsdown Primary School.

Set up Splott State Circus to collaborate with WNO on Splott Cinderella. Trained 30 members of the community to perform in large-scale community project.

British Juggling Convention in Manchester

Arts Council of Wales withdraws and re-instates project funding after a campaign.

Win £1000

Pete on verge of leaving...

Circus wins ABSA SWALEC Arts Award, for the best use of continued sponsorship.

Ninian Doff in 2016

Picture from a Scottish newspaper, when the company was caught short during the Edinburgh Festival.

Following on from Splott Cinderella with the Welsh National Opera (WNO) we were invited to work on Kalaf's Quest. This show was directed by Iain Stewart Ferguson and was another large scale community opera produced by Alan Dear whilst he was head of education at WNO. The show was based on The opera Turandot by Puccini and includes the famous ice cream song Nessum Dorma! This time the project ran simultaneously in Bristol and Cardiff and we worked in Cardiff with Splott State Circus and with The Albany Artists in Bristol to create the circus elements of the performance. Workshops ran weekly in Orchestra Hall in Cardiff and the Albany Centre in Bristol for two months before the performances. The shows took place in the Star Centre in Splott and the Bristol Hippodrome. For the Albany artists it was their first taste of large scale community productions. Noteable performers from the group we taught with included Billy Alwen who went on to set up Cirque Bijou and Drew Hewitt who started Incandescence.

This is another show where we have no photos or film so if you have some please let us know.

2 shows in Cardiff and 2 in Bristol

Over 100 people.

Pete Gregory leaves to go freelance

Norwich

Juggling Wiki

For a couple of years, the circus offices were upstairs at The Tred.

The landlord, Russell Noman, can be heard talking about those days in the sound clip above. (10 mins)

Splott State Circus performed in ‘Autogeddon’ and in ‘The Bartered Bride’ with the Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Go to Show Page

Decide to consolidate community work by setting up and producing our first very-own large-scale community project, ‘Autogeddon’.
The show involved 100 members of the community, several local community art groups, and individual artists.

NoFit State Community Circus Ltd is formed to enable lottery applications.

This comes from a memo dated 1998:

NOFIT STATE CIRCUS

Since 1985 NoFit State Circus has produced shows of a high quality that have always been both accessible and critically acclaimed. Over this period the company has developed their own unique style which is now developing further with the large scale projects they are undertaking. The company draw upon many theatrical traditions such as 18th century popular drama including:
1. Circus, which from it's inception presented re-enactments of historical events and even Shakespearian plays.
2. Mummers plays which developed out of the community, for the community and about the community.
3. Melodrama which was able to speak to a popular audience about the issues that affected it in ways that seemed urgent and relevant.
NFSC like many other directors and artists this century such as Meyerhold and Eisenstein, use circus with poetry and theatricality, humour and imagination to create something unpredictable, fresh and challenging.

Despite continual financial constraints the circus has managed to develop a reputation for exciting and entertaining productions and have endeavoured to maintain a high artistic standard.

NOFIT STATE COMMUNITY CIRCUS LTD.-Aims and objectives

Our philosophy is about forward looking, progressive theatre, avoiding the cultural and intellectual elitism of most art. We aim to reach audiences denied the opportunity to witness live Art. Nofit State Circus was formed in 1995 and is now recognised as the best tented touring circus theatre in the UK

Circus Theatre, by it's very nature, has the ability to transcend the limitations of any one theatrical or cultural style, yet make disparate elements seem part of a cohesive whole. Breaking down barriers is essential, both theatrically and politically. We live in times of fragmentation where new perspectives are essential if we are to save this planet and live in peace. We choose to act as messengers.

To fulfil this philosophy we must, produce accessible, politically challenging shows containing understandable messages and further develop our levels of excellence in Circus Skills and performance. Creatively and culturally a melting pot of ideas is not just unavoidable but desirable.

We aim to develop our links with local communities across cultural divisions at grass roots levels and we encourage participation by all ages and abilities especially in workshops and community projects.

We usually perform in our own 400 seater tent, fully equipped with specialist rigging, light and sound which has access and space for wheelchairs. However we visualise exciting new performance spaces and aim to utilise these for site specific projects.

Our political and artistic commitment is matched by our commitment to exploring progressive and alternative methods of work. Nofit State Circus is an equal opportunities employer, it operates as a non profit making company ltd. by guarantee and all policy decisions are made by management committee which meets six times a year.

In essence we follow a desire to liberate, to celebrate, to educate, and create fun for ourselves, our employees and our audiences.

The work of Nofit State Circus is a collaboration of art forms, mixing drama, circus, physical theatre, mime and
music. This is achieved through collaboration with established experts during the training, devising and rehearsal period each year and is a continuing process of development for both permanent company members and guest performers. The continual improvement of standards and quality, both in dramatic content and circus skills, is an important aspect of company policy.

Lottery and Sports and Arts Foundation buy us new van, generators and trailer, and new light and sound equipment

Tomahawk

It looks as though this finally got deleted about six months before we asked about it!

The earliest that has been found online (so far) dates from 2001 - and it links to some text pages, but no images.

from the Wayback Machine

However, we do have the content of a website from 1998, some of which is being used in creating this timeline!

We discovered half an hour of footage of the cast doing a 'stagger through' of the show, without scenery, costume or props.