Blog

On 22nd March 2025 Jacksons Lane Youth Circus participants from across the borough came together for their annual showcase in the theatre. Over 50 young people from different wards across Haringey and Barnet performed to a packed auditorium, amazing audiences with their incredible skills and creativity, as well as the confidence, wellbeing and teamwork that circus instils in them.

Youth circus has always been part of the Jacksons Lane story, but it wasn’t until 2012 that JL Circus as we know it today came into being. Since then, we have introduced hundreds of young people to circus through our workshops in community spaces around Haringey and Barnet.
This year, to celebrate our 50th birthday, youth circus participants chose 5 significant moments from the last 50 years and re-created them through circus. The show was called Looking Back to Our Future, and showcased these moments from Jacksons Lane’s story:

Archway Road Protests

Jacksons Lane has always been a thriving hub of community activism.
Back in the 70s, there were plans to widen Archway Road into a motorway which would have led to many local shops and homes to be knocked down. People in the neighbourhood were not having it. For a solid 15 years, they fought tooth and nail against this idea. In 1990, the whole motorway plan was finally scrapped.
Many people involved with Jacksons Lane in the 70s and 80s were active in the protests to show up for their local community. Both efforts needed dedicated organisers and a space for artists to grow and galvanise, as well as support those who were suffering from loneliness and isolation partially due to the impact of the plans on the area.

Juggling Convention

Long before Jacksons Lane started to focus on circus, it hosted the third annual European Juggling Convention. 42 participants from 9 European countries attended. Jacksons Lane was chosen by the convention for its large practice hall, pleasant theatre, and convenient snack bar.
Performances included Rudy Horn, who demonstrated a 5-ball routine with cascade, overhead cascade, back crosses, 6-ball shower, 7-ring cascade and 8-ring flash. All the basic tricks we teach at JL Circus…

Fundraising

For much of Jacksons Lane’s early years it was run entirely by volunteers, and supported by community fundraising. Fundraising events were always full of fun, with lots of jumble sales, competitions, performances, puppets and celebrity appearances.
During the 80s Jacksons Lane fundraised a staggering £1.6 million and over the decade, they transformed the building into a practical multi-space arts and community centre and theatre, all with a leading focus on inclusion.

New theatre

Building work on the theatre (as we know it today) started on the 9th March, 1987. It was designed by architects Tim Ronalds, and won a RIBA Community Enterprise Award for being one the most imaginative community initiated building projects in the UK.
The new theatre had a focus on inclusion, specifically aiming to be fully accessible for disabled artists. Shortly after it opened, Jacksons Lane started a theatre training scheme for disabled adults, and created a disability arts department focused on creating a space where disability arts could thrive within a mainstream arts culture.

The borough of Haringey celebrates its Golden Jubilee this year, and we want to use this opportunity to give a huge shout out to all of our Youth Circus participants, past and present, who have engaged with Jacksons Lane whether it be in Tottenham or Wood Green, Seven Sisters or up here in Highgate. We’re privileged to be able to reach young people all corners of Haringey, they make us who we are today!