Circus of Horrors at Venue Cymru, Llandudno

Mar 19 2009

Circus of Horrors

LLANDUDNO is looking forward to an anarchic production blending freakish displays and surreal characters when it rocks up at Venue Cymru next week.

Circus of Horrors, which began as a sideshow at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995, will arrive at Venue Cymru next Tuesday, March 24, after years of stalled attempts to play the theatre.

"We’ve tried for years to play at a major venue in North Wales, and in the past we’ve always had the show voted against," said John Haze, one of the show’s creators.

"Councillors are scared to death of anything that’s not politically correct and could backfire on them, but it’s a brilliant show and one we’re glad Venue Cymru has been brave enough to take on."

The show sees Mr Haze take on the role of his freakish alter ego Doktor Haze in the Circus of Horror’s latest production, Apocalypse in the Asylum, which sees a variety of strange characters take over a crematorium in 19th century France.

"People were always asking where we get the ideas for the Circus of Horrors stories from, so we wrote this tale to match, and it sees my more evil side come out throughout the production," he added.

"It’s pure entertainment with a rock twist, and has some amazing things in it that you wouldn’t see outside of television.

"It’s not a play in the traditional theatre sense but it is something where people will get to see some strange things.

"It’s like being on a ghost train – people don’t like being hurt, but they do like being scared.

"Circus of Horrors is like a fairground ride in many ways."

Mr Haze has been trying to bring the Circus of Horrors to the region for many years, and says it has a personal appeal for him having spent much of his childhood travelling across North Wales while working with a circus.

Tuesday’s show marks the Llandudno debut for the Doktor and his pals, but is not their first North Wales performance.

"We did two shows at Colwyn Bay pier when that was still open, as we like the chap who owns it," said Mr Haze.

"It had a fantastic atmosphere and meant people could get even closer than usual to the stunts, but it’s a very small venue and it meant we couldn’t do everything we wanted.

"Luckily, Venue Cymru is a lot bigger so we’ll be able to pull off a real spectacular when we go there."

Circus of Horrors arrives at Venue Cymru at 7.30pm on Tuesday, March 24, with tickets starting at £10. To find out more visit Venue Cymru’s website at www.venuecymru.co.uk or contact the box office on 01492 872000.