The Giant Magic Tent returns to showgrounds as ‘Hudson’s Circus’ tours Murwillumbah and Lismore

HUDSON’S Circus has returned to the Northern Rivers, bringing its travelling big top, performers and long family tradition to Lismore.

The circus is running at the Lismore showgrounds until February 22 after appearing in Murwillumbah earlier this month.

Founded in 2013 by Shane Lennon and his wife Nancy, Hudson’s Circus blends traditional circus elements with modern production, featuring trapeze artists, aerialists, motorcycle acts and archery displays.

“Think modern lighting, sound and effects, but keeping the animal content, the ringmaster and all those things that you remember of a real circus,” Lennon said.

For Lennon, circus life is not just a profession but a lineage.

He describes himself as fifth-generation circus, having grown up travelling Australia in a small caravan with his family, all of whom were involved in the business.

 

“The circus line in my family goes back to Old Granny Lennon, who started her own little tin pot thing in 1893, entertaining all the gold mining towns,” he said.

“And the generations just went on and on inside the circus business.”

That tradition continues today, with Lennon’s children also performing in the show.

“Currently, all my kids are involved with the circus, so the line will continue,” he said.

“Hudson, 14, does a motorcycle act in the show; Denver, 12, acts as the clown sometimes; and Giselle, 9, is a training trapeze artist.”

Lennon said circus life was unconventional but deeply communal.

 

“We’re one troupe that travels together, eating together, and exploring towns together, so it’s a very unconventional lifestyle,” he said.

“I tried normal life once, but I didn’t like it.”

That sense of family extends beyond bloodlines, according to ringmaster Danny Harrington.

“My wife met me 25 years ago when she saw my act, and she’s been a part of the circus ever since,” Harrington said.

“Now my wife’s kids have acts, and their kids are being born into the circus.” Today, his extended family performs together, including his daughter and son-in-law in the bow-and-arrow act.

“It is my son-in-law and my daughter that do the bow-and-arrow act,” he said.

“I panic every single show because that guy is shooting arrows toward my daughter, but I trust him enough to allow it because he’s a very good shot.”

 

Harrington said the dangers of circus life were always present, particularly in acts involving height, speed and precision.

“One mistake on the trapeze or mis-rev on a motorbike and things can get hairy,” he said. “I’ve seen some crazy accidents, some things that could have been in a Simpsons episode.”

Despite the risks, he said the pull of the circus world was hard to escape.

“The circus is like a separate world that captures people along with all their relatives,” Harrington said.

“But as the saying goes, the show must go on.”