Circus Phoenix wows Lismore audience at opening

Circus Phoenix opened its run in Lismore last night with a full audience, and by the reaction of the crowd the show is sure to be a hit.

With not an animal in sight, the performers displayed an amazing range of talent and skills during the two hour show.

Rosebank stunt rider Jack Field made a triumphant return to the region with a dazzling display on both his motorbike and his BMX, while illusionist Cassandra had the audience spell-bound with her displays of trickery.

The clowns were a big hit with the little kids, and the big kids, in the audience, ensuring that everyone was well and truly involved in the show.

Dubbed as a new-generation circus, the show melds traditional performance such as acrobatics and performance, the thrilling wheel of steel and high energy extreme sports.

The evening culminated with two motorbike riders racing around the ‘wheel of death’, just centimetres from the head of Cassandra.

Circus owner Phoenix Harrison said he was ‘absolutely over the moon’ with the reaction of last night’s crowd to the show.

‘We are a new circus and we’ve only been going about eight months. We’ve started our Australian tour which should take about three years to get around the country,’ he said.

‘It’s a very physical show for the performers but there’s also the logisitics which go along with putting up the tent and moving it from place to place.

‘We’re a very family-orientated group and we’ve got our backstage crew working hard, as well as our performers doing their bit to make it all happen.

The circus will be at the Lismore Showgrounds until 28 January, with up to two performances a day. Once the Lismore shows are completed, the circus will be moving on to Grafton.

For information and tickets visit http://circusphoenix.com.au

All photos by Paul Connelly of OneLoneDuck media