BOB (Clown/Dance) I'm not a performer. I'm not comfortable being on stage. ...Or so I have thought all my life. Circus has made me think about who I am. And it turns out I AM a performer! The encouragement of the group has brought out something I never imagined was in me. And has built my confidence and strength.

CLAIRE (Hoop/Dance) I always felt self conscious and judged because I am in a wheelchair and only half of my face moves. Feeling that made me not want to go out or interact with people. I had got to a point in my life where I never even considered trying something new and just said no. Circus has completely changed all that. Now I have found in myself a sense of self worth which I thought I had lost for ever. Circus has given me wonderful friends. I no longer feel different but part of a team. Although I am quite restricted at what I can do and my conditions make a lot of things impossible, I get excited about trying new things, feeling proud if I can do it and laughing if I can’t. I never in a million years would have guessed I would be good at hooping. That was a true surprise. Life definitely doesn’t stop at fifty, it is only the beginning. I have now realised that if you don’t give it a try you will never know if you can or can’t do it. This experience has meant the world to me and I am truly addicted to hooping. Maybe one day I could teach other wheelchair users to hoop too. I can’t wait to see what is next for me!

CAROL (Trapeze/Dance/Hoop) After the loss of my daughter 3 years ago, my world came crashing down. Such a huge loss left me not wanting to be part of a world without my daughter. Circus gave me a way to reconnect with the world, it’s given me a purpose and brought a little bit of sparkle back into my life. It’s rekindled my passion for dressing up and for dance. Now, as well as circus, I am also performing burlesque under the name Talula Demure. I'm going to just go for it and enjoy being alive. Not the most confident person, I have to push myself to step out of my comfort zone as it defies what I was taught to believe in myself for many years - that I was never good enough. Performing is my escape from the reality of life's hard knocks, my happy place. When I stand on the trapeze I feel on top of the world! I say be a kid at heart - because the older you get the more you can get away with.

AMANDA (Doubles Trapeze/Dance) My natural inclination is to be in the background, but this group of wonderful people is so supportive, I've been able to overcome my reticence. I surprised myself that I did all the theatre and performance exercises and didn't hate it! Now I'm really looking forward to performing. I have always been inspired by my mum. She died just 6 weeks before her 100th birthday, and was active her whole life. She played tennis and did exercise classes until she was 98. Mum would have very much approved of me taking on the challenge of performing aerial circus!

CHRIS (Rope/Hoop/Dance) I've performed most of my life, as a pianist or in theatrical productions. As I get older though, I do wonder - can I still? Who would want to see me? You get used to being more 'invisible' and sometimes there is a struggle to put your head above the parapet again. Before Covid hit, I ran 3 days a week, went to gym 3 days a week - ran marathons. Then it all went. I thought that was it - my time for that was done, I lost it all. With Can Do Circus Co, I'm coming back, bits of me are coming back piece by piece. I'm older, but I'm still me. We all care about each other, we all help each other and support each other. We go to the pub, for coffee, for a meal, share messages, talk about music, invite each other to shows, invite each other to be in shows. And the response to us over 50s performers from the wider community, from the world, from social media! It’s overwhelming, truly life affirming.