Interview: Hannah Coz and Angus Mackechnie, Joint Leaders Of Jacksons Lane, On Alignment, Circus and Ambition

For over 50 years, Jacksons Lane has been at the heart of north London’s artistic community. We speak to joint leaders Hannah Coz and Angus Mackechnie about the venue’s next chapter, the future of contemporary circus and the vital role arts and culture play in bringing communities together.

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Why was this key role divided into two? And how well did you know each other before this arrangement began?

Hannah: Jacksons Lane is a wonderfully complex organisation. We're a nationally recognised circus venue, a creative hub for artists, a community anchor organisation and a much-loved local arts centre. The reality is that no single person can be an expert in all of those things.

Angus and I bring different experiences and perspectives, which makes us stronger as a partnership. I'd spent many years at Jacksons Lane and other large-scale venues leading participation programmes and strategic development, while Angus brought decades of experience developing artists, creating work and championing outdoor arts and circus nationally.

Angus: Hannah and I hadn't worked together before, so there is a degree of adventure for us both. I'd just come from a job as sole CEO, and what mattered hugely to me was the chance to work alongside someone who knew the venue, its people, its quirks and its communities… and who brings a different perspective from my own background.

Joint CEO arrangements often sound better in the press release than when deciding programmes or in the budget meeting. When you two disagree, who has the final word, and has that been tested yet?

Hannah: The honest answer is that we haven't found ourselves in many dramatic stand-offs yet. That's partly because we're usually trying to solve the same problem from different angles. When we're discussing a programme, a budget or a new opportunity, we're both thinking about quality, impact and organisational sustainability, just with slightly different starting points.

Angus: We don't have separate artistic and financial agendas. I might be the person proposing a particular show, but I'm just as accountable for the organisation's finances as Hannah is for the artistic programme. We both know that the programme needs to balance artistic ambition, audience development and financial reality.

We've had some robust conversations, particularly about what we can realistically afford to do. But that's the point of working together [...] Sometimes the answer is that a brilliant idea simply isn't possible right now. That's frustrating, but it doesn't mean it wasn't worth exploring, and there may be another way of achieving what we set out to do.

Neither of you appears to have come to Jacksons Lane as performers, makers or specialist producers of circus. Does leading the UK’s home of contemporary circus require knowing the art form from the inside, or can outsiders see things that insiders miss?

Angus: I'm not entirely sure I'd accept the premise! I've never been a circus performer, but circus has been a huge part of my professional life for many years. 

Circus is where I've made many of my professional connections and lifelong friendships. In my earliest days in the sector, Jacksons Lane was one of the places I came to discover new work and learn more about the artform. So while I may not come from a performing background, I certainly wouldn't describe myself as an outsider [...] But I certainly wouldn't describe myself as a performer. My juggling skills are unlikely to trouble anyone at Jacksons Lane. Ask the Gandinis.

Hannah: I agree that specialist knowledge is incredibly important, but so is curiosity. One of the joys of this role has been learning from artists and audiences while bringing perspectives from participation, theatre and community engagement into the conversation.

Adrian Berry spent 18 years building the venue’s circus reputation and its international partnerships, and Hannah, you co-led with him. What from that era are you keeping, what have you already changed and what will be retired?

Angus: Jacksons Lane has built an impressive reputation for contemporary circus over many years, with an international profile that far exceeds its size. That's a pretty good starting point for a new Creative Director.

Now it's about building on that position and thinking about what it means to be the UK's home of contemporary circus over the next decade. Presenting work remains central, but I'd like us to have a stronger role in supporting artists throughout their careers and helping to build a more connected circus sector.

Hannah: We celebrated our 50th Anniversary in 2025 so we’re focused on what the next chapter should look like for Jacksons Lane – and what do our many communities; local and artistic, need from us today. We’re particularly excited to explore how we can build better pathways for participants and artists to move through our programmes – how can we support people that come to us through every stage of their life and career.

Angus, you’ve said that if circus is the greatest show on earth, Jacksons Lane should be the best place to see it.  What does “best” mean when the Roundhouse, Southbank and the Spiegeltents are all chasing the same audience?

Angus: I certainly know we can't compete with the Roundhouse on scale or with a Spiegeltent on the number of mirror tiles per square metre, but we have something incredibly special here in Haringey. Our theatre is intimate, the audience is close to the performers and that can create a very different experience of circus. 

Earlier this year I visited Cirque du Soleil's headquarters in Montréal, and the sheer scale of the operation was remarkable. But in a way we're all interested in the same thing: how physical circus skill, imagination and performance can create something that connects with an audience… we're just working at rather different scales (and budgets).

This year you have a six-show Christmas Cracker, and half-term brings the Super Spooky Cabaret. Is the family programme how you build the adult audience for contemporary circus?

Hannah: We definitely see connections between the two, although perhaps not in the most obvious way. Not every family audience member is going to come back and watch contemporary circus on a Friday night, but family experiences are often where that trust begins. If you've had an incredible experience with your children or grandchildren at Jacksons Lane, you're much more likely to return and explore something else in the programme.

There's also something unique about circus. A child might come for the joy and spectacle while the adult accompanying them is noticing the artistry, creativity and physical skill. Both are engaging with the same work, just in different ways.  For us, the family programme isn't a separate strand. It's part of developing a lifelong relationship with audiences, and about encouraging families to explore culture together. We'd love someone to encounter circus here for the first time as a child and still be discovering new artists and experiences decades later.

Angus: What interests me is finding work that engages everyone in the room. Circus is particularly good at that because different generations can enjoy the same performance. And children are demanding audiences; if they’re bored, dear God, you know it.

With Jacksons Juniors, we bring together theatre, dance, circus, storytelling, puppetry and other forms of performance for young people. Christmas Cracker reflects that variety, with six different shows appealing to different ages, interests and tastes. 

The Super Spooky Cabaret is a slightly different model. We've brought together four performers who could just as easily form the line-up of a sexy, sophisticated West End cabaret, bringing all that skill and experience to a show for children and families. It's being pulled together by Abi Collins, one of the best clowns on the street and one of the finest comperes in a Spiegeltent. I hope that it becomes something of a model for our future creations for young people.

 

As I wrote last year in a preview for the Oliviers, we must be the only country on earth that has birthed a modern art form with huge global success, yet fails to celebrate it ourselves in a meaningful and regular way. Why do you think it hasn’t had this attention? 

Angus: It's a combination of things and there's a rather frustrating circular problem. Circus isn't programmed widely enough, so audiences and critics don't necessarily encounter the true range of work being made. That lack of visibility then makes it harder to attract the investment needed to create and tour new productions.

There's also a historical distinction in the UK between circus as popular entertainment and theatre or dance as recognised artforms, which I think has been deeply unhelpful. Contemporary circus can be spectacular, but it can also be intimate, provocative, political, experimental and emotionally complex. It has every bit as much artistic ambition as the best theatre or dance.

But I look at countries like France, Belgium and Finland, where circus is supported through dedicated venues, creation centres, festivals and touring networks; Ireland’s doing great work to spotlight circus. The UK has brilliant artists and some very committed organisations, but the infrastructure simply isn't comparable.

And I do get exasperated by that. It is frustrating that so few of our major producing theatres commission circus. It’s unusual to find contemporary circus in the regular programmes of regional theatres and dance houses. And why do we still have to spell it out to funders that circus artists need proper creation budgets, ongoing touring support and professional fees just like everybody else?

Hannah: I think part of the challenge is that circus often sits between established categories. It's incredibly ambitious and contemporary, but many people will have a set idea of what circus means, partly because there simply aren’t enough opportunities to see the breadth of work being made. 

One of the things I love about circus is its ability to bring together people who might not otherwise see themselves as arts audiences. It's visual, physical and emotionally direct. In many ways it's one of the most accessible artforms we have, yet it can still be overlooked in conversations about contemporary culture.

Jacksons Lane has a tradition of community work that goes well beyond the stage. When funding is tight, how do you stop that work from being the first thing cut?

Hannah: The short answer is that we don't see community engagement as separate from our artistic work. It's not an add-on at Jacksons Lane; it's a core part of why we're here.

Jacksons Lane was founded by local residents who recognised a need in their community and came together to create a space that could support young people, older residents, community initiatives and local activism. That belief in the power of people coming together still shapes the organisation today.

Of course, when budgets are under pressure every organisation faces difficult decisions. But I think it's important to look at impact holistically. The young person discovering confidence through a circus class, the older resident finding connection through a community project, the artist developing new work, and the audience member seeing a performance that changes their perspective are all part of the same ecosystem.

For me, success isn't about choosing between artistic excellence and community impact. It's about creating a place where artists and communities connect, exchange ideas and help one another to thrive. That's what Jacksons Lane does at its best, and it's what we'll continue to protect.