Formed almost by chance, by saving an old big top tent from landfill, Revel Puck Circus has been delighting audiences with its modern take on circus around the UK for the best part of a decade.
“We’re an East London homegrown company creating fresh, contemporary circus for new audiences,” explains artistic director Luke Hallgarten. “Our mission is to revolutionise our sector and redefine public perception of circus.”
Know for “high-energy, family-friendly, animal-free modern shows”, the company brings its latest, A Glimmer Daze Gambit, to Ramsgate later this month.
The story follows Stella and Kit, who realise their dream of joining a circus. However, having never seen one before, they have to guess at what they might need in order to take part. The narrative brings together a wide variety of different circus acts, including what Luke says is a world-first balancing performance featuring nine people.
We sat down with Luke to find out more about how Revel Puck came to be, how it differs from other circuses, and what audiences should expect in Ramsgate.
How did Revel Puck start out?
Revel Puck was formed in East London in 2018. The seed of it started with a big top: after I toured with NoFit State for three years, I spotted a 40-year-old blue tent one night that was about to be thrown out. I asked if I could take it. The original manufacturer made it as good as new, and my own circus was born.
From there, the company grew around a shared love of tented, outdoor touring: landing in the heart of a community for a fleeting moment, then packing up and leaving no trace other than the memories.
What’s your background in circus and why did you want to start your own company?
I’m very dyslexic. Growing up, I was the kid bouncing off the walls, and my mum tried to find something for me to do at the weekends, so at eight I started circus classes in Hoxton. I totally fell in love with juggling.
I worked weekends at Oddballs in Camden (a proper cavern of magical tricks, unicycles and diabolos), then eventually enrolled at the National Centre for Circus Arts. School was a spectacular failure… and then circus school wasn’t. I graduated with first-class honours.
After that I went to Le Lido in Toulouse, the French state paid my school fees and gave me a wage to study there. As part of my finals I had to produce a tour. Experiencing the thrill of a live show really cemented my belief that circus was my calling.
Then I auditioned for NoFit State Circus and toured with them for three years. And after that, I wanted to build something of my own: a company that could tour in a big top, be properly rooted in community, and bring contemporary circus to places and people who might not walk into a theatre.
What was the company’s first show and how have the performances developed over time?
We did our first major stand in Leyton in 2021, in the midst of the Covid pandemic summer. I think the experience of putting on a show in a moment like that has really focused us on audience experience and ensuring our team feel like they are a part of decision-making and have ownership of the work.
Since then, the company has grown stand by stand. Each time we land somewhere new, we learn more about how to build the world around the show, not just what happens in the ring, but what happens on the site.
We’ve always been drawn to making popular work about the human condition: shows that are accessible to all ages, all backgrounds. Over time the scale has grown, the touring has grown, and our ability to create a whole experience has grown too.
What’s the premise of A Glimmer Daze Gambit?
A Glimmer Daze Gambit is a show about hope, arrival and community. You join the Pucks in a wild ride of finding joy in the journey, not the destination.
Stella and Kit have finally arrived at their dream home: a circus. Desperate to join the troupe, they’ve brought everything they think they might need. Having never seen a circus before, they’ve had to imagine what might be of use.
Through a journey of discovery, they realise that to fail is to learn, that community is forged in the mistakes, and that to care about something is as important as the thing itself.
How does this run through the show?
Circus storytelling, the dramaturgy of it, works differently to theatre. For us, it runs through the show in the way the company behaves together - how people take risks, how they support each other, how they mess up, how they recover, and how the audience is invited to be on their side.
What are the key performances people should expect to see?
It’s a high-spectacle big top experience with world-class acrobatic performances, physical storytelling, ensemble chaos, and a proper parade of skills.
You can expect teeterboard, aerial cradle, straps, cloud swing, bounce juggling, group acrobatics, plus plenty more surprises.
And there’s one moment that consistently gets a proper audience reaction: our Rola Globe. It’s a world-first and a Revel Puck original - a giant globe topped with a square platform, where nine performers balance together in a breath-holding feat of teamwork, timing and nerve.
Your shows include performers from all over the world. How do you find the people you want to work with and does the cast change over time?
This show brings together a collective of grassroots London-based and international circus artists, including performers from Argentina, the USA, Ethiopia and Canada.
Casting is about people as much as it’s about tricks. In its barest form, circus is the technique, and the person doing the technique, and the person matters.
We look for artists with a real vocabulary of technique, but also the ability to be themselves on stage: present, funny, human. And yes, casts evolve, touring is intense, and the show keeps developing with the people inside it.
How do you go about creating a new show? Does story come first?
We start with what we want to be offering to the public and contributing to the industry - and what will genuinely be of interest to the communities we’re landing in.
There’s a long period of research and thinking, lots of conversations with collaborators, and then the deeper questions arrive.
Story doesn’t always come first in a traditional sense. Often it’s: what’s the theme, what’s the feeling, what’s the question, and then we build the world around the technique and the people.
How long does it take to put a show together?
A long time! And longer than people think. There’s the research and development period, then the practical reality of getting everyone in the same place, rehearsing safely, and making sure the audience experience is strong from the moment they arrive. In total, I’d say it’s around an 18 month process.
How much does location impact a show?
Place matters massively. We tour with a big top because we want to be in spaces that feel inviting; parks, commons, places people already belong to.
When the circus is on tour, we live on site in caravans, and there’s a real sense of community to it. On two-show days we’ll have a lunch meal together, and on a three-show-and-move day it’s an evening meal. Long trestle tables outside the food truck, showers and washing machines on site, and a lot of laundry! Thursdays and Sundays are costume wash days.
Every town has its own rhythm. The show stays the show, but the way the site feels, the way the community responds, and the way we welcome people always changes.
What has been a particular standout moment that took you by surprise since starting Revel Puck?
The biggest surprise is how much people want this kind of shared experience.
You land somewhere, pitch the tent, and suddenly you’ve got families, teenagers, older people, people who’ve never been to circus before, or shared cultural experiences together all sat as one, having the same emotional response. That never gets old.
I remember one interval of a show; I was serving popcorn from the stage and looked out into the audience. In one corner of the tent, a mum was feeding her baby and chatting to an older lady who looked like her mother, and in another corner, there was a young muslim couple quietly praying. Seeing communities come together under the big top is truly why we do what we do.
Revel Puck’s big top will be pitched on Government Acre in Ramsgate on July 9-12. There will be two to three performances of A Glimmer Daze Gambit per day. Tickets from £10.
Strange Tourist subscribers can get 15% off tickets for all Ramsgate performances by using our special discount code.
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