This December, local company Tit for Tat have joined forces with Circomedia to present This and That: A Winter Special, a feel-good, family-friendly variety show of daring entertainment, comical nonsense, and bold new circus.

Ryan Murphy, co-host for the evening and Tit for Tat’s artistic director, steps out of the rehearsal room to tell us more.

What’s the story behind forming your company Tit for Tat?

Tit for Tat began as a juggling duo between myself and Louis Lamprell. We shared a love for the silent screen era of clowning, classic British TV comedy, a sense of cartoon-like danger, and a passion for accessible street entertainment. We loved making shows that took the circus away from its traditional props and apparatus; removing it from its pedestal of mystique, and reframing it within everyday situations or theatrical scenes. Now led by myself and Maia Ayling, Tit for Tat exists to create high quality integrations of circus and theatre, for both indoor stages and across the outdoor arts.

How would you describe Tit for Tat’s approach to circus performance?

We create many different types of work. But we are mostly known for our eccentric character comedy and our wild-eyed ‘calamity driven’ circus style. We have, dare I say, a unique blend of circus and theatre; with training rooted in the pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq. Our core members have studied either at Lecoq or in schools such as LISPA and Gaulier. This is a style that Bim Mason, the previous Artistic Director of Circomedia, cultivated at the school and one we continue to explore and push in all our ensemble shows. We particularly love working with Circomedia alumni as a result. 

What do you hope for Tit for Tat?

We have fought very hard to compromise as little as possible on making work that we think is ‘good’ vs making work that is commercially viable. It’s a battle all artists know, and it’s a very delicate balancing act… especially for a company of disaster-prone clowns. We have always wanted Tit for Tat to be an artistic raft in the sector, creating exciting bold new work with other circus-theatre devisers, interrogators, and creative misfits. Our hope is to create bigger and bolder group projects over the next few years with like-minded fools, and support other artists with a similar ethos. We have recently taken on the management of a not-for-profit studio and rehearsal space in Easton, previously overseen with decades of love and tomfoolery by the incredible Desperate Men. We hope this creative hub will be a base of operations for exciting new Tit for Tat projects, and more widely as an artist-led space to sustain new creative work across Bristol. 

Tell us about the partnership with Circomedia and about the show that’s coming up.

We’re very excited to be working with Circomedia to present the This and That variety show, and hope to develop it into a recurring collaborative event. We’ve got a great mix of acts ranging from very technical and impressive circus skills to outright comedic stupidity – showcasing some fantastic local Bristol artists. Of course, it’s all glued together by some Tit for Tat compering, a few stunts of our own, and some festive sparkle. 

Who is the show aimed at? What can they expect when they come?

All our work fits a sort of reverse-Pixar model; it’s made for adults, but kids will love it too. Expect family-friendly comedy, absurdist humour, some truly impressive circus spectacle, mulled wines and mince pies. Unless we eat them all first.  

How do they book tickets?

Head over to the Circomedia website, head to ‘what’s on’ and then click This and That: a Winter Special, and buy a ticket directly from there!