Circus Geeks' BETA TESTING to Take Over the Udderbelly, May 26-June 21

Three incredible jugglers share their obsession with throwing and catching through theatre, comedy and unbelievable circus skills in Circus Geeks' BETA TESTING, running as part of the Udderbelly Festival at Southbank Centre, Jubilee Gardens, London SE1 8XX, Tuesday 26th May - Sunday 21st June 2015.
Press Night: Thursday 28th May, 7.30pm.

Funny, geeky and super smart, Beta Testing lifts the lid on life as a juggler. Ever wondered what goes into being a professional performer, marvelled at how tricks are learnt or wanted an insight into life on the road? Part Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, part Bang Goes The Theory, part TED-talk, part Monty Python sketch-show, Beta Testing is a fascinating and hilarious insight into things you never knew you didn't know.

Discover the wonder behind juggling as these incredible performers show you skills that'll make your mind boggle. It's juggling, but not as you know it.

Beta Testing began life when Arron Sparks invited two fellow Circus Geeks and childhood friends, Jon Udry and Matt Pang, to devise a show with him based on some of their blog's most popular posts. The performers speak directly to the audience about life as jugglers in this fascinating new take on circus, combining technology with live performance.

Developed in partnership with Roundhouse, National Centre for Circus Arts and Jacksons Lane, La Breche and SeaChange Arts, supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Produced in association with The Production Shed.

Beta Testing will be touring the UK before landing in London as part of Udderbelly Festival which runs from 9th April - 19th July 2015. Now in its 7th year, Udderbelly's iconic upside-down purple cow brings a splash of colour and a bellyful of comedy, circus and family shows to the South Bank. With incredible entertainment, organic street food and a full bar menu, Udderbelly's pasture is the perfect place for the whole family to laze and graze this summer.

Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, Directors of Underbelly, say we can scarcely believe that this will be Udderbelly's 7th year at Southbank Centre and our 4th year with London Wonderground. We created these festivals with the very clear ambition of wanting to give Londoners an affordable and eclectic mix of fabulous live entertainment but within a true festival environment in the very heart of London. We're very excited about this year's festivals and can't wait to get the Cow's legs up in the air and the mirrors polished on that Spiegeltent again.

Watch a trailer below!

DETAILS:

Circus Geeks: Beta Testing
Tuesday 26th May - Sunday 21st June Tuesday to Friday, 7.30pm
Saturday and Sunday, 6pm
Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2.30pm
Running time: 60 minutes
Udderbelly Festival at Southbank Centre, Jubilee Gardens, off Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

Udderbelly Festival is located in Jubilee Gardens, off Belvedere Road. The nearest underground stations are Waterloo (on the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines), Embankment (on the Circle, District and Northern lines) and Westminster (on the Circle, District and Jubilee lines). The nearest rail station is Waterloo. (www.udderbelly.co.uk/your-visit)

Tickets are available from www.underbelly.co.uk and on 0844 545 8282, ranging from £12.50 to £17.50 (concessions and family rates available). Book for 2 shows out of Bromance, Circus Geeks: Beta Testing and A Simple Space and save 15% on ticket prices. Book all 3 and save 25%.

Circus Geeks are an award-winning juggling company, based in London. They create alternative circus shows with a skeptical slant. Circus Geeks began life as a collaborative blog in 2011, run by Arron Sparks, with circus artists from across the world contributing articles and sharing videos. Beta Testing was born out of the blog's most popular posts. Arron began Yo-Yo in the craze of 1998, and went on to complete a degree in juggling at the National Centre for Circus Arts in 2008. Since then, he has toured the world with his own work and with Gandini Juggling. Arron loves sharing and discovering new ideas, many of which are connected by his interest in Yo-Yo, juggling, circus, skateboarding, video making, technology, logical / rational / skeptical thinking and learning, marketing and performance. By using reality as the basis for their work, Circus Geeks engage people who are more likely to be watch documentaries or online debates than a play.

Underbelly is a UK based, live entertainment company. Their events and festivals division operates one of the largest operations at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe selling over 236,000 tickets for over 140 shows over 25 days. 2015 marks the seventh year of Udderbelly Festival at Southbank Centre and the fourth year of London Wonderground at Southbank Centre. Elsewhere Underbelly also produces Edinburgh's Christmas; Comedy Hullabaloo with the RSC Stratford- upon-Avon; West End Live in Trafalgar Square for Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre. Through their Underbelly Productions arm they produce and promote live shows in London, throughout the UK and on tour internationally. In 2014 Underbelly sold over a million tickets to their various events.

Southbank Centre is the UK's largest arts centre, comprising three iconic buildings (Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery) and occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London's most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Building on this rich heritage, Southbank Centre offers an extensive artistic and cultural programme including annual and one-off themed festivals and classical and contemporary music, performance, dance, visual art and literature and spoken word. For further information, visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk.

Southbank Centre's Festival of Love will return in summer 2015 from 6th June to 6th September, when this rich and complex subject will be explored further in installations, performances, exhibitions and free events across the whole site. The festival, which was enjoyed by 1.6 million people last summer, will again feature the Big Wedding Weekend, when couples come together to marry in mass ceremonies on the Royal Festival Hall stage over the August Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday 29th to Monday 31st August).

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