Low noise. Hesitant murmurs. Palpable anticipation. Excited but unsure what to expect.
A movement on stage catches eyes and quietens chatter. So silent, you can hear the air. Pounding hearts. A stifled cough. A loud beat, then music! A burst of bare feet tumble into the room. A sea of unblinking eyes, mesmerised…
…in a flash it’s over. But every moment was delicious.
We love to transform the energy of a space; to animate a place. We love to move people to a mind that’s a million miles away. That’s the power of circus and it’s why we do what we do. Circus means different things to different people. But it always starts a conversation. And there’s always a story to tell. Here’s ours…
Once upon a circus
“I always loved gymnastics, dance and theatre. Any excuse to show off! So I leapt at the chance to join a cultural exchange programme in America and spend the summer at circus school. It was the perfect worry-free life; setting up a show, making people happy and then doing it all over again. Year after year, I went back. We travelled across 35 different states, living in trailers, buses and hotels. It was the circus life of books and childhood dreams. But I worried about where I was going next. I wanted a career so I started by trying to get a job. With no qualifications and no clue what I was looking for, I struggled.
So I did what I knew and loved, and in 2011 started a circus class (with one member). And just like that, Circus Mash was born. 10 years later, one class became forty and Circus Mash is the heart of Birmingham’s community circus; my inner mood board painted across the city.
But it didn’t stop there. Creating shows and performing were always on my mind. So, inspired by my love of fashion and creativity, House of Mash emerged. A way to share dance, song and spoken word in all its hope and glory. And to showcase the incredible young people who inspire me every single day.”
Joe Fearn, Founder and Director
OUR MISSIONS
Cutting-edge performances that inspire conversation. We create eye-opening acts to elevate events and animate spaces (added jaw-dropping guaranteed). Your feel-good event will do good too. All our shows start with ideas and inputs from our youth collective, giving them opportunities on a Stage of Change.
Circus skills to empower, energise and encourage you to achieve your impossible. We develop skills through creative classes, workshops and courses and create high quality shows with you, our community members.
An online space to connect circus teachers, performers and enthusiasts with tools for motivation and mental balance. We help generate income streams for artists and introduce the power of circus to a wider world. One mind, body and circus at a time!
Great work can only come from great partnerships.
Here are just a few of the amazing clients that allow us to come to work
every day and push our boundaries.
Thanks again for a great day – we loved every second! Huge thank you to Katie for being patient and enthusiastic throughout! I think we are all considering new careers in the circus!
- Olivia Turner, NIVEA
Circus Mash offers a great team building opportunity, Zaq had a fantastic energy and was great with the group - everyone enjoyed it and as the organiser, I found Zaq to be very helpful and flexible. A great find!
- LINDSEY PALMER, Virgin Media, Team BuildingCircusMash were a pleasure to work with. Zaq was professional, organised and clear about what was required. His creative input and efforts made to provide a bespoke programme was much appreciated. Zaq’s flexibility and efforts to resolve issues as they came up throughout the process was great. The final product was outstanding – the entertainment provided was artistic and beautiful, the evening ran very smoothly and I was very impressed with the talent of the performers. Zaq and his colleagues were all friendly, professional and approachable – fantastic.
- Charlotte Heap, University of BirminghamZaq and his colleagues were a pleasure to work with. CircusMash invested a lot of time and effort in creating a bespoke performance that fully matched the brief and exceeded our expectations. A big thank you for the table centrepieces – a lot of people commented to me on the night how wonderful they looked and how in keeping with the Winter Wonderland theme they were. I just wanted to say thanks again for contributing to a most successful and enjoyable evening – all your hard work was very much appreciated!
- Joanne England, University of BirminghamEach of the performances from CircusMASH were absolutely brilliant – our colleagues were mesmerised the entire time! The performances were perfectly suited to our event in the Big Top and really brought to life our journey and performance theme to our event. The performances were certainly memorable and I don’t think any of our colleagues will forget this conference anytime soon! The team at CircusMASH are great to work with – nothing is too much or too hard and I would definitely recommend and work with you all again in the future – thanks for making my event a true performance!
- Laura Lucas (Halfords)MORE OF OUR CLIENTS
We truly put our heart and soul into every commission. We’re proud of the work we do and by working with us you help to develop a whole new generation of artists, entrepreneurs and innovators that will make our future the best it can be. Here are some of the stories of happy clients we have worked with over the last few years – we hope to add you to the list!
