Roll up, roll up for hair-raising stunts as biggest-ever CircusFest hits town

A female Finnish double act hang from their hair, French acrobats swing 30 feet into the air, and all the family will be invited to learn to juggle.

CircusFest is returning to the Roundhouse in Camden for a fourth year — but expanding right across the capital, with performances from Finchley to Deptford as well as a new pop-up tent in its own back yard.

The 2014 festival will feature 20 shows, with three major premieres at the Roundhouse itself.

Capilotractées are the brave Finnish duo reviving the art of being suspended by their hair while La Meute (The Wolf Pack) are the French acrobats who use a “Russian swing” to propel themselves high into the air.

Funk da Cirque sees a troupe of young London street dancers and acrobats aged 11 to 25 present human pyramids and body percussion while an insect circus sees actors and puppets became amazing acrobatic creepy-crawlies.

Adults-only variety show Palava! combines drag, hula-hooping and the winner of Baghdad’s Got Talent. Puffball has been created by young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning their sexual identity. Actress Sophie Ward and journalist Evan Davis will take part in a panel discussion after one performance.

There is new work by groups such as Company 2, who previously created the hit show Cantina, and now present She Would Walk the Sky, described as “an epic poem told in grand circus”.

Meanwhile, all the family is invited to take part in a free weekend of learning circus skills. Circus producer Hannah Bruce said: “This year is much bigger than it’s been before. It spans an incredibly diverse range of artists. There’s an increasingly amount of great work out there, and a growing audience for it.”

CircusFest 2014 will run from March 26 to April 27 at locations also including Jacksons Lane in Highgate, The Albany in Deptford, Shoreditch Town Hall, Highbury Fields, and artsdepot in Finchley. Visit roundhouse.org.uk