Gorilla Circus: RPM

RPM is a high-octane show combining exhilarating acrobatics, adrenaline-pumping street dance, and breath-taking roller-skating.

Using a mixture of news clips from the time, acrobatics, street dance, and circus, the performers take us from Windrush to modern day Britain on a giant treadmill to explore untold links between current issues and the UKs troubled history. It asks the question: “Has this country ever confronted its colonial past?” Inspiring and entertaining, the work is created with the intention of educating and provoking thought and discussion.

Whilst British citizens continue to benefit from the legacy of colonialism, little thought is given in media, schools or society, to the long lasting effects of our history on the wider world and the structural systems of privilege that it has helped create. Inspired by the media coverage of the 2011 London riots & the growing Black Lives Matter protests, RPM reflects on these contemporary events as a lens to view our past. RPM, a reference to Revolutions Per Minute and the historical treadmill we find ourselves on, has a cast of performers who blend spoken word, dance, circus, acrobatics & rollerskating, presenting our colonial past alongside modern parables.

‘An interesting blend of powerful political theatre and extraordinarily skilled circus’
Total Theatre Magazine

Age recommendation: 7+, this production contains gun shot effects
Running time: 1 hour with no interval

Gorilla Circus is a contemporary circus production company specialising in imaginative, sophisticated works with strong narratives surrounding global issues. They were formed in 2009 and were granted NPO status in 2023.