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Angus MacKechnie, Jacksons Lane’s Creative Director, introduces this excellent report on circus in later life

At Jacksons Lane we see a lot of circus on our stage, but we also spend a lot of time thinking about and delivering circus as an engagement tool. Circus is a way to bring people together, build confidence, stay active and connect with creativity… at every stage of life.

As Creative Director here at JL (and as someone who recently had a ‘significant’ birthday), I was really interested to read a new report with the excellent title Clowning, Connection and Confidence at 55+, from In Your Space Circus in Derry, Northern Ireland.

The report explores their Silver Circus programme for adults aged 55+ and looks at the emotional, social and physical impact of taking part in social circus activity. I’ve done a bit of circus at various points in my life, from some bold student trapeze work to more recent acrobatics with companies I have been working with (see pic for evidence!) – I feel it may be time to revisit it again.

I recognise the findings because the research is so clearly grounded in people’s actual experiences and reflects the work we do here in Haringey. The responses cite brilliant things such as laughter, friendship, improved confidence, better movement, feeling less isolated and having something enjoyable to look forward to each week.

There’s also something fantastic about the idea of older adults surprising themselves and trying juggling, balancing, aerial or clowning and realising they’re still totally capable of learning new things. Seeing a sense of play and curiosity in later life is a truly wonderful thing.

The report highlights the value of the artists leading the sessions, creating relaxed, welcoming spaces, remembering names, sharing tea and building trust alongside the circus skills themselves.

As we continue developing our own creative engagement work at JL, it’s encouraging to see this research recognising the role circus and participatory arts can play in healthy ageing and community wellbeing. A future with more plate spinning, more laughter and more circus in later life sounds like a great thing… and a great manifesto.

READ THE REPORT > CLOWNING, CONNECTION AND CONFIDENCE AT 55+

Huge thanks to In Your Space Circus for this excellent work.

Angus MacKechnie | Creative Director | Jacksons Lane