21/04/2026
- The Big Top Festival,CCulture Liverpool- May 2nd and 3rd Southport - outdoor and FREE!!!
CutToTheChase Productions and SideLong Glance presents
Wild Laughter: Fun on the Prom
A collaboration between Ellie Lybeck and visionary theatre maker Jen Heyes inspired by Albert’s appearances in Southport and the North West.
Albert wanders Southport in his travelling outfit, pulling his trunk behind him. He stops festival-goers to show them his souvenir album: photos of himself enjoying seaside amusements and vintage postcards. The final postcard is of the old Winter Gardens. On the back is written: ‘Meet me at the Winter Gardens. Love Annie x x x’. Does anyone know the way…?
Albert James was a star of the nineteenth-century stage. A theatre clown and patter baritone known to audiences as “Jimmy the Jester,” he toured across Britain and around the world with some of the biggest names in show business. Yet after his death in 1913, Albert slipped into obscurity and is scarcely mentioned in theatre history.
For the Big Top Festival, his great-granddaughter—acclaimed physical performer Ellie Lybeck steps into Albert’s shoes, bringing the forgotten clown back and a troupe of the world’s most famous clowns and comics from across the centuries: Feste, Grimaldi, Chaplin, Coco, back to life. The result is a unique performance event in which Albert and his company of fools present a joyful 30-minute outdoor promenade performance for all ages. Playful and interactive, the show blends historical storytelling with contemporary clowning, transforming public space into a lively performance arena.
Celebrating seaside variety, circus eccentricity and physical comedy, Fun on the Prom invites audiences to step into Albert’s mischievous world through laughter, movement and direct interaction.
