Circus performers worldwide attracted by this Ring casting call have spun, turned, and twisted as they performed and stood at their feet (at one point while resting on someone else’s head), each one at a time in a massive screening room. In a room brimming with potential clowns, ringleaders, and more than one person who could hang on a hoop suspended off the ceiling. But there was a noticeable absence.
There’s not been one animal show. Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus brought down their metaphorical big top in 2005, stopping their 146-year existence after declining ticket sales and a growing dislike towards the lion, tiger, and elephant shows that were once a part of the circus.
But, the circus has been secretly studying potential performers and planning the possibility of a return to places such as Las Vegas, Ethiopia, and Mongolia over the past year.
The company announced on Wednesday that it would be back with its first show scheduled for September. 28th, 2023, and a tour covering fifty cities with no animals.
The circus is a component of the Feld entertainment program, which features Disney on Ice and Monster Jam, which features massive trucks that perform tricks. The company blames the decline of the circus on a dated business model and not the criticism of animal rights activists.
It transported trapeze equipment, motorbike cages, 500 employees, and 100 animals throughout the country in long trains, a costly venture in an age where gaming and the virtual world compete with children’s attention. Feld removed its elephants in 2016 when. A few states, like New York and Illinois, started to ban the use of elephants for traveling productions. Following the closure in 2017, Feld sold its trains and the custom-built accommodation for the performers. In the most recent version, the cast members will travel between cities, lodging in hotel rooms, and massive savings can be made because there’s no need to register the case of, say, a giant cat.