"Adapt, improvise and overcome" - why circuses will always survive

So says Jon Miller as he brings Jay Millers Circus to Selsey with a brand-new show for all the family.

They will be next to the Windmill, PO20 9BH, from Wednesday, July 13 to Sunday, July 17, with performances daily, Wednesday and Thursday 6pm only; Friday 4.30pm and 7pm; Saturday 3pm and 6pm; Sunday 1.30pm only. Tickets on https://www.jaymillerscircus.co.uk/tickets/

“The pandemic was awful,” Jon says. “We got closed down, not because we wanted to but because we had to but at the end of the day we are still here. Circuses must always survive. They will always survive. It's about being adaptable and versatile and as long as there are people that want to come and see us we will be there and it's great to be getting back out there again. We put a lot of thought into how we can change what we can provide and it has been highly successful since coming back.”

During the pandemic some of the girls made masks and PPE and did all they could to support the effort against Covid: “We came back last May and it was great. We had lots of people just wanting to come out with the family again. It was fantastic. Nothing beats proper live entertainment. We seat about 800 and we were only letting in 400 but then we increased to full capacity slowly though on some days we did present a socially-distanced show.

“I would not say that circus was damaged by what we went through. In fact I think it has brought it more to the forefront of people's minds. Because they were not able to leave the country, they had to stay here and they started thinking about things like circus. We've had lots of people coming along who were saying that they haven't been to the circus for years.

“We have now got a recession coming and we've also got to deal with the fuel price increases. Our vehicles do ten miles a gallon so you can imagine what that is costing and we've also got the expense of the generators which is £700 more a week. But you've just got to do what you can.

"It has always been about adapt, improvise and overcome and that's what we will always do.”

It's a changed business in so many different ways. It is no longer a case of printing posters and putting them up everywhere and printing thousands of flyers and distributing them everywhere. It is now about online and social media.

And it's also about remembering that the next place could well be better.

As Jon says you might do really well in one place and then go 20 miles down the road and not do well at all. Equally you might do badly in one place and then do really well somewhere else close by. “And that's the great thing about circus. We can change and we can adapt and we can always move on. It's not like a shop where you are stuck there and you just can't change. You'll always be there.

"With us we just travel on and we hope!”