INTERVIEW: Magician David Williamson travels back to 1903 for circus extravaganza
The historic art of circus performing is given a modern revival with the new show Circus 1903 — The Golden Age of Circus, from the creative minds behind The Illusionists and War Horse on Broadway. However, audience members shouldn’t expect lions balancing on balls or elephants walking in line, tail to trunk. Those days of animal performers are coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean Circus 1903 doesn’t have a few tricks up its sleeves.
Thrilling and dangerous circus acts are coupled with enormous puppet elephants to make for a modern take on an old art form. At the center of the high-flying acrobatics and contortions is David Williamson, who plays Willy Whipsnade, the ringmaster of Circus 1903.
“I’m a magician, and I’ve been a performing magician for over 30 years,” Williamson said in a recent phone interview. “I met Simon Painter, the producer of this show, through The Illusionists, the other show that he produces. So I was in the cast of The Illusionists on an Australian tour about three years ago, and that’s when I first heard about his idea for this circus show and elephant puppets. Even back then, when he was talking about it, I kind of thought, wow, I wonder if they’ll have a role for a ringmaster. I think I would fit that role, even though we never spoke about that, and then I did The Illusionists last year again with him in London, in the West End, for two months over the holidays. And shortly after that, they called me and said, ‘We’re offering you the role of Ringmaster in Circus 1903. Are you interested?’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Although magic and circus acts are both performance arts, they are not identical. When Williamson signed on for Circus 1903, he was leaving behind one world of illusion for another. This meant in the initial stages of the tour, he was out of his comfort zone.
“I have some narration to do,” he said. “It was a bit challenging and also physically challenging for me because I’m the only one who doesn’t come from circus. I’m the only one in the cast who has no circus background, and it’s a very physical show. I’m the only one who can’t do a backflip. I have a couple decades on everybody, and there’s a lot of backstage activity running around and getting props ready. It’s very physical backstage as well, so physically it was challenging. And mentally it was challenging at first — memorizing lines and figuring out blocking — but it’s all gelled. And I’m very comfortable in the role now, and I’m loving it. I’m having the time of my life.”
The character of Whipsnade has its origins in a few influences on Williamson’s own life. First off, there’s Professor Marvel from The Wizard of OZ; he’s that kind fortune teller who helps Dorothy before the tornado hits, and he’s also a stand in for the Wizard himself.
“I was kind of basing what I do on an amalgam of Professor Marvel from Wizard of OZ and a little bit of W.C. Fields,” he said. “[Fields] actually was a circus owner in one of his movies, and his name was Whipsnade. So that’s where that name came from, as a little nod to W.C. Fields and his character, and a little bit of Basil Fawlty.”
Williamson first learned magic when he was growing up in a small town in southern Ohio. A magician came to his school when Williamson was still in the fourth grade, and the acts that this person performed proved inspirational. Williamson received a magic book and magic set shortly after the performance, and he was officially “bitten by the bug.”
“By the age of 10, I turned to my mother and said, ‘I’m going to be a professional magician. Don’t worry about me. Worry about my brothers,'” he said.
The life of a professional magician is a tough one, but Williamson has found tremendous success in the competitive industry. He entered the professional leagues with a little bit naiveté and worked his way up to bigger and better engagements.
“I’ve gotten to know people around the world,” he said. “It turns out it’s a fairly small community, the people who make a living at it and tour around. We all know each other. We all support each other, so it’s a pretty tight-knit community of magicians.”
JUGGLING THE BACKSTAGE AREA
The backstage area at Circus 1903 can be quite the scene. Williamson might be in one corner practicing sleight-of-hand tricks, while the other performers are running through backflips and handstands. The contortionist stretches while the acrobats flip upside down. The rolla bolla folks are balancing while the jugglers have props flying in the air. “It’s just what you would imagine,” he said. “It’s really happening backstage.”
Cirucs 1903 will play April 5-16 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. After the two-week engagement, the show moves to other cities in the United States. It’s a long commitment for the performers, but Williamson is used to life on the road.
“My wife and I, we’ve been in this world a long time, and I’ve always traveled,” he said. “That’s what I do. I worked for Disney Cruise Line for six years almost on a week-on-week-off basis, so home every other week, out to their various ships. And before that, I did a lot of corporate entertainment festivals and TV shows, so I’ve always been traveling. When I’m working, I’m out of state basically on an airplane, so this was a little more intense. Absolutely true that this tour would be the longest I was away from home, but there are breaks in the tour, a couple weeks here, a couple weeks there. … There’s a little hesitation, but with my experience with this company and with Simon and with The Illusionists, I go I believe that they take really good care of us, and it would be a very pleasant experience based on my other tour experiences with these guys.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Cirucs 1903 — The Golden Age of Circus will play April 5-16 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
