Regardless of the weather, it’s all hotting up on the circus front as summer approaches.  Here’s what you’ll find around and about this month.

The Udderbelly Festival is underway at the Southbank Centre with Aussie acrobatics from Gravity And Other Myth‘s playful A Simple Space (until 24th), to be followed by Circus Geeks‘ Beta Testing (27th-6th June), demystifying the art and science of juggling with comedy and multimedia technology.

The London Wonderground Spiegeltent is hosting the brand new Scotch & Soda, full of whiskey-soaked circus and live music from the creative team behind Cantina, from 14th-2nd August.

Meanwhile Total Theatre Award winners Barely Methodical Troupe are touring their acrobatic and cyr wheel exploration of male friendships Bromance before their Udderbelly stint in June.

Also on tour are Gandini Juggling, with ballet-juggling beauty 4X4: Ephemeral Architectures and brand new rock’n’roll project 8 Songs.  Catch them at Brighton Festival 3-5th as part of Without Walls Weekend (which also features Stefano di Renzo‘s counterweighted slack wire Hold On), and at Norwich And Norfolk Festival 16-17th, or Ageas Salisbury International Festival 24-27th.

Tenting season is going strong again with announcement posters popping up all over the place. Amongst others, this month sees Gifford’s Circus open their new show Moon Songs on 15th, and a return of Moscow State Circus with Zhelaniy.  If you don’t want to wait for the posters to appear, you can check who else may be coming near you here.

Back in London, Jackson’s Lane present this year’s A Night Of Gravity showcase on 16-17th and 23-24th, Upswing open their touching new circus-theatre show for children and families, Bedtime Stories, at Stratford Circus (28-30th), and Circumference deliver the immersive multi-media experience Shelter Me at Theatre Delicatessen from 27th-5th July.

Circus arts are surging forward in the UK, with over 65 companies pitching and presenting their work for future touring and development opportunities during London’s 3-day circus industry showcase Canvas last month.  Stay tuned for plenty more magnificent work heading our way over the next few years!

IMAGE: Scotch & Soda at London Wonderground.  Sean Young Photography