World’s Circus Origin
First attested in English 14th century, the word circus derives from Latin circus, which is the romanization of the Greek κίρκος (kirkos), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος (krikos), meaning “circle” or “ring
The origin of the modern circus has been attributed to Philip Astley, a cavalry officer from England who set up the first modern amphitheater for the display of horse riding tricks in Lambert, London on 4 April 1768 Astley did not originate trick horse riding, nor was he first to introduce acts such as acrobats and clowns to the English public, but he was the first to create a space where all these acts were brought together to perform a show. Astley performed stunts in a 42 ft diameter ring, which is the standard size used by circuses ever since. Astley referred to the performance arena as a Circle and the building as an amphitheater but these were to later be known as a Circus. Astley was followed by Andrew Ducrow, whose feats of horsemanship had much to do with establishing the traditions of the circus, which were perpetuated by Henglers and Sangers celebrated shows in a later generation. In England circuses were often held in purpose built buildings in large cities, such as the London Hippodrome, which was built as a combination of the circus, the menagerie and the variety theater, where wild animals such as lions and elephants from time to time appeared in the ring, and where convulsions of nature such as floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have been produced with an extraordinary wealth of realistic display. Joseph Grimaldi, the first mainstream clown, had his first major role as Little Clown in the pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin’s Wedding in 1781. The Royal Circus opened in London on 4 November 1782 by Charles Dibdin and his partner Charles Hughes. In 1782, Astley established the Amphitheater Anglais in Paris, the first purpose-built circus in France, followed by 18 other permanent circuses in cities throughout Europe. Astley leased his Parisian circus to the Italian Antonio Franconi in 1793.
Circus in Pakistan
In 1970 Mian Farzand Ali gave dimensions to performing arts in Pakistan through his home made picture production “Lucky Irani Circus”
“His drive for creating excellence in performing art never ceased and with passage of time he established Lucky Irani Circus” as the one acclaimed for winning hearts of millions through quality entertainment.” After a journey of four decades, Lucky Irani Circus has evolved into a fully-equipped establishment.
After Mian Farzand Ali’s death in 2000, his son Mian Amjad Farzand is not only continuing his father’s mission but has also improved the entity further.The secret behind the success of Lucky Irani Circus is the contributions of skilled artists and performers too. This can be denounced from the fact that the audience of Lucky Irani Circus comprises not only entertainment lovers from limited class of people but also grabbed liking of those who belong to bureaucracy, establishment, and other literate social masses.
Till now Lucky Irani Circus has conducted millions of exciting shows with a fan base of more than two million per year captivated viewers all over the Pakistan due to quality entertainment shows at optimum charges. The animals used by Lucky Irani Circus for quality entertainment includes lions, stallions, bears, camels, monkeys and lengthy king cobras. Some of the shows involve “Single Wheel Cycling”, “The Lion Act”, “The Riding Chimpanzee”, “Unbelievable Aerial Acts” Flying Trapeze etc. The Chimpanzee uses unicycle and walks over a soccer ball without slipping. Horses perform freakish circular movements there. Man and Lion rock and roll together to stun audiences. All of these animals are properly fed and managed (during show) by expert trainers to ensure not only entertainment but both security of animal and viewers. The floodlights, glaring bulbs, the announcement of the ring master, the leap of viewers from seats due to joy, the clowned jugglers using unusual object wearing ill-fitted garments with painted faces, the knife throwing, axe walk, the final salute of performing crew etc. all comes into play to add more to the beauty of circus. In a nutshell the future of this industry (not only in Pakistan but also worldwide) is secure as long as the brands like Lucky Irani Circus exist.