Circus Artist Simon Llewellyn Talks to Galway Community Circus About His Artist Residency

“I’ve never seen a reason for us not to play more. What is the negativity of playing?” Simon said. “There’s huge mental and physical information about why we do it and how it benefits us. Children are naturally gifted at it but there’s this perception that as we get older we have to stop playing. We even call it ‘child’s play’.

Simon sees circus as a way to incorporate play into life as we get older, despite outside pressures and the struggles we inevitably face. “Circus helps me to accept challenges while putting emotional well-being and positivity first,” he said. “For example, when I’m starting a new show and I’m experiencing doubts like ‘why am I doing this?’ Or ‘this isn’t going to work,’ then you’ll find these little sparks of excitement and you’re like ‘oh that’s it!’”

Getting back to the essence of child-like, openhearted play is at the centre of Simon’s practice, and what he hopes to share with GCC during his residency.

Circus has taken the Belfast native all over the world, from circus summer camp in America to circus school in Europe and tours across the continent, all the way to stages in Australia and work with Clowns Without Borders Ireland in Palestine, Jordan and South America. Simon is now based in Tampere, Finland, where he lives with his family.

“Circus is a language in itself that we can use to communicate,” Simon said. “As a Northern Irish person living in Finland, we’re able travel all over the world all because of circus. I grew up through Belfast Community Circus School seeing how the work of circus can transform communities and change people. And I suppose it has changed me, and now there is an element of giving back.”

That shared language means circus students and teachers from entirely different walks of life can find community and connection together. “Circus is a family and it doesn’t matter if I’m going to Galway or a circus school in Finland, we’re going to have a shared emotional attachment and a shared language,” Simon said. “We’re all interested in doing the same things together and trying to find solutions to any problems we may face. It can all seem very deep but if you want to get to the simple side of it, why do I do circus? Because it’s fun.”

After 25 years in circus schools, Simon has developed a keen interest in social circus, creativity and the ‘how’s and why’s’ of the way circus is taught. He has worked with the CARAVAN Network to develop a framework defining what ‘social circus’ is and how to make and deliver community circus projects.

A serious accident caused him to move away from his acrobatics and trapeze training and re-evaluate what circus meant to him. “I wasn’t able to walk and I had to take a lot of time out. I got very into the idea of teaching teachers and asking questions like ‘why are we teaching? What is creativity? How we do learn?’” Simon explained. “And that’s why I’ve now been lucky enough to come to Galway.

For Simon, connection is at the heart of what makes performing special. No matter the age of the audience or performers, “we’re all the same, with the same needs for connection and to be seen,” he said. “It’s very inspiring to see someone go on stage and just leave it all there. Perfect technique isn’t what interests me when I watch other artists perform. If something goes wrong, it means something new can happen.”

Since returning to live performances after a year of limits and lockdowns, Simon has noticed that audiences are very generous, eager for the same connection he feels as a performer. Recently, he took part in a tour of care centres for the elderly, performing a show based on a traditional Finish summer holiday. The performance, and the memories it evoked in the audience, were very touching. “It’s always beautiful to see the community side of performance,” Simon said. “That’s what circus is and that’s why we perform.”

Simon’s residency is made possible thanks to funding from The Finnish Institute UK and Ireland to whom we are very grateful. The residency is culminating in our Christmas Cabaret on Sunday, 12th of December which is supported by Galway City Council and the Galway Tourism Recovery Fund.

You can learn more about Simon and his projects on his website.