FROM OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR : THE AMAZING TRAMPOLINE SHOW STILL TOURING AFTER 12 YEARS!
On Saturday 3 June, we welcome Max Calaf to Bell Square with his extraordinarily popular trampoline show, Anyday. This show has been everywhere and it’s high time that it makes its appearance in Hounslow! I talked to Max recently about why he thinks it has been in demand for such a long time.
Anyday
Anyday is comic, absurd and surreal. It’s the charming tale of Max who lives the ‘same day’ everyday on his trampoline, with only his little pet bird for company. As the two friends travel from town to town, we witness the strange events that happen in their chaotic world. They bounce together between life and death, catapulting into the stratosphere, and ultimately lifting our spirits. I’ve seen many trampoline shows over the past few years and this one sticks in my mind more than any other.
First and foremost, Max Calaf is a circus artist. He trained at circus school in his native Barcelona and then at Circus Space, the national centre for circus arts, in London. Having lived here in London for many years, he now lives in Paris. He has done juggling, aerial skills and skating, but is really best known for his trampolining and his eccentric acrobatics. He performs indoors in theatres and also outdoors, always obliterating the boundaries of what any normal person would think is possible on a trampoline!
Max has created many shows over the years but Anyday, which we see at Bell Square, was created back in 2011. He tells me a little anecdote about the title.
‘Up until then, I always had very long titles for my shows. I was trying with this to find a title that could catch the essence of the piece in one word…. well, I liked it, so I shortened ‘any day’ into a single word. Aren’t we allowed to make artistic choices!’
I asked him why he thought the show had remained so popular all these years and continued to tour all over the world.
‘Wow, it’s been a while since that first early version! The show has mutated several times, it has a life of its own. It’s changed quite naturally as I’ve performed it in front of so many people, in so many different contexts. The show has had an open dialogue with its spectators.
‘I also created it to be a show with an open story – it’s a bit autobiographical but it’s also relatable to people (I hope, lol!). The show is based on a state of mind rather than a fixed story.
‘I think the show has stayed more time-based - in the present – rather than being timeless. It’s a show that can give audiences a clear example of how circus can communicate in narrative and poetic ways. I like to think that I’m portraying a character that could really be any one of us, any member of the audience, as at the end of the day, we all have stories to tell’.
One of the reasons I have loved this show since I first saw it 10 years ago, is its ability to tell this lovely, quirky story. Add to that, the breath-taking trampoline skills and hilarious clowning, and it’s just a brilliant, unique show. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
Come and see for yourself on Saturday 3 June at Bell Square! There are 2 performances – at 1.00 pm and again at 3.00 pm. As always, it’s free and there’s no need to book.
Look forward to seeing you there!