As NoFit State Circus return to home turf from touring their newest, unflinching show, Hari Berrow checks in with Artistic Director Tom Rack before he hits the road again. 

A darker and more theatrical show than the company has ever done before, Sabotage is NoFit State’s response to the conversations happening across the globe since 2020. 

“It’s the usual rollercoaster of high-skill, high-spectacle, high-energy circus but we couldn’t have been through the three years we’ve all been through without reflecting on it somehow,” says the company’s Tom Rack. The show features a diverse cast of performers from across the globe, sharing personal stories of belonging, migration, and identity through the visual medium of circus. 

“We really don’t want to be preachy,” Rack clarifies; “we really don’t want to be didactic. We don’t really want to tell people what to think. But what we can do is put positive role models, positive experiences, and positive messages in front of people and hope that it can challenge their preconceptions, make them think a little bit differently and perhaps be a bit more accepting.”
One of the main things Sabotage hopes to achieve is proving that circus isn’t just for kids. “It’s a theatrical, artistic and expressive artform. It’s gone beyond just the slapstick clowns and jugglers. Contemporary circus has more meaning and more metaphor and a layer of richness. It’s moved on, it’s more than just a spectacle: we like to think of it as art.” 

It certainly is art, and Sabotage demonstrates the full range of circus’ creative potential. 

“Our shows are very much about all the company being on stage all the time. In traditional circus you do your act, go and sit backstage and wait for the curtain call. But in our shows, if you’re not performing, you’re rigging or you’re pre-setting or you’re getting changed or you’re supporting somebody else – and if you’re not doing any of that, you’re singing in the band!”

This is one of the most intense rehearsal periods the company has ever had. “When it came to making the show, we had maybe two weeks in the winter and then three and a half weeks in Haverfordwest before we opened, which is really fast,” recalls Rack. Clearly, creating a NoFit State show is a very collaborative process, with director Firenza Guidi helping performers to shape their own creations.

Rack laughs. “I’ve worked with Firenza for over 20 years, and she is brilliant – bonkers, but brilliant. Performers very often come with a routine that they’ve been working on or developing, and then Firenza deconstructs that routine and reconstructs it within the universe of the show,” Rack explains.

“With circus artists, they do what they’ve trained to do for years. The performers know their limitations and what they can do, and Firenza comes with a vision, a series of impulses, and a unique and interesting performance language that ties the whole show together to make one coherent company.”

Cardiff is the last stop on the road for Sabotage, and what has been a triumphant return for NoFit State, who have their eyes set on going global next year. “Audiences have been amazing, particularly the Welsh tour,” Rack tells me. “We’ve had an overwhelming response. It’s not often that a show of that scale would go to Merthyr or Bangor – people were travelling from miles around to come and see it.

“Particularly in Merthyr – thanks to Arts Council Wales we could sell quite a lot of cheap tickets, and we had people coming three or four times because they loved it so much,” Rack smiles. “I don’t think people come to the circus and expect to be touched emotionally. People sometimes leave the show with a tear in their eye. It’s been so special to do that for people.”

NoFit State‘s Sabotage, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Fri 12 Aug-Sun 11 Sept. Tickets: £15-£24 (£60-£65 for a family of four). Info: here

words HARI BERROW