Lost in Dramaturgy: Annabel Carberry @ Edfringe 2016

The Hogwallops by Lost in Translation Circus

There are events going on all over the world celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Roald Dahl, claimed by many to be the world’s greatest storyteller. 

The Hogwallops is Lost in Translation’s skillful yet slapstick circus show relating domestic adventures of a chaotic, dysfunctional family of misfits inspired by Dahl’s The Twits - with elements of Ettora Scola’s film Bruti, Sporchi e Cattivi (Ugly, Dirty and Bad) added to the mix. 

The Hogwallops by Lost in Translation Circus

Underbelly Circus Hub, The Beauty Venue 360    

4-22 Aug (not 10, 15), 15:30 (60 mins)

£12 - £10 (previews 4, 5 Aug £8)  

What was the inspiration for The Hogwallops?

Primarily families and their relationships, which was re-inforced and informed by an intensive period of living and working together as a group. Circus comes from a family tradition and is very good at expressing human relationships so it is not a big leap to look at families as an inspiration. We were also inspired by our experience of living and creating in Great Yarmouth and the great eccentric characters that we would meet or see around the streets.

Specifically when we started with this them when looking around for source material we fixed on two main inspirations - Roald Dahl's The Twits, and Ettora Scola's film Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi (Ugly, Dirty and Bad).

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

All our artists for The Hogwallops are part of our core team of artists, who we try to work with fairly consistently and intensively over the year with various projects in order to create a close, tight knit team and use these close relationships to improve our collective skill level and inform our creative process. We actually have a new member of the team this year – Mathew Green who has been with us since January. We auditioned at the beginning of the year and he has been on tour with us for most of the year, so its also good to have fresh faces and new perspectives sometimes as well. In general we usually try to have an audition process but it also takes time to try things out with people and see how the relationship develops and see if it is a good fit creatively, in terms of team and in terms of the needs to of the show. This show was very much created by the group we had to make it, all the artists involved had quite a big creative input.

How did you first become interested in making performance?

Personally I have been involved in circus since I was a child, but have slowly gained the experience (both professionally and in life) to begin to be part of creating full-length work. Its very complex and lots of hard work but also very rewarding. 

Was your process for this show typical of the way that you make a performance?

I don’t think we have a typical process yet. We are still quite young as a company and The Hogwallops is only our second full-length show, and the first one indoors. We are exploring different ways to integrate circus, theatre, movement and music, and it’s a complicated thing to bring different artforms together so each show creation is a step along that journey of exploration.  

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

We hope they will have a great time, be excited, thrilled, moved and laugh a lot, and to find something in there that connects to each one of them.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

We always need to create something that we have fun with and that we enjoy and laugh at, but it needs to also be a journey with the audience. The show has changed and evolved several times and grows with the feedback from the audience. Every time we get a chance we are tweaking it here and there to try to make it clearer, more exciting or funnier.  But a show doesn’t necessarily always come out as you originally intended and there are always things that surprise you.

Do you see your work falling within any particular tradition?

Our show falls within the genre of contemporary circus, but also pulls on elements of physical theatre, and clown. However we also draw on lots of other sources. We don’t necessarily see ourselves as falling within a particularly tradition but its important that the circus and physicality still stays primary to the mode of expression. 

Thrillingly spectacular circus skills blend

seamlessly with charm, physical comedy, clowning, juggling, theatrical storytelling and slapstick in this colourful, loud and funny dramatisation of the domestic adventures of a chaotic, dysfunctional family of misfits.

UK based but with an international cast, Lost in Translation return to the Underbelly Circus Hub with a firm family favourite following UK and European touring.

Lost In Dramaturgy: Annabel Carberry and Massimiliano Rossetti @ Edfringe 2015

Lost In Translation Circus presents
The Hogwallops
UK based multinational multi skilled circus troupe with slapstick fun for all the family

Thrillingly spectacular circus skills blend seamlessly with physical comedy, clowning, juggling, theatrical storytelling and slapstick in this colourful, loud and funny dramatisation of the domestic adventures of a chaotic, dysfunctional family of misfits. 

Venue: Underbelly, Circus Hub The Lafayette Venue 360
Dates: 7-29 Aug (not 17, 24)
Time: 11.25am (60 mins)
Tickets: £10 - £8 (preview 7 Aug £6)

The Fringe

What inspired The Hogwallops: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?
We started with the idea of a family and when looking around for source material we fixed on two main inspirations - Roald Dahl's The Twits, and Ettora Scola's film Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi (Ugly, Dirty and Bad). From here we had two months of intensive training and creation with the performers creating physical material inspired by these. Then we worked with a composer and created some musical material and brought in theatre director Chris Dingli who created a constantly evolving script based on this material. Our two months of creation were in the winter in Great Yarmouth, and were very intensive, living together, working together and doing nothing else and a lot of the feeling of the show came from that experience.

Why bring your work to Edinburgh?
We actually approached the Underbelly thinking to try and bring the show to London, but they were looking for a family friendly show for their new Circus Hub and were interested. We were keen to have a long run of the show so it worked out. 

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?
We hope that the audience will be able to relate to the love/hate relationship of the family, to laugh, to be amazed and to come away with a craving for bananas!


The Dramaturgy Questions
How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of

dramaturgy within your work?
Dramaturgy is always really important to our work, but there is always been a back and forth between the circus and the theatre, one influencing the other until we find our balance. Quite often there is a tension between the needs of the circus and the needs of the dramaturgy and it can be quite a long process to find the right path between them, but that is our mission!


What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work - have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?
We are at heart a circus company, and we fit into the genre of contemporary circus, in that we base ourselves in circus physicality but draw on other artforms - in our case primarily theatre. All our artists come from different backgrounds and that influences our work. Those backgrounds include physical theatre, street theatre, youth circus, contemporary circus, dance, gymnastics, commedia dell arte and text based theatre. We see ourselves as using circus as a foundation to bring those artforms together and hopefully create something interesting and engaging.


Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?

We are still quite a young company so are still finding our process, it has been a bit different with every show. This show probably has had the most creative input from the performers of all them all, it was really created as an ensemble, with us (the company directors) giving a foundation before the director came in to put everything together and create the overall dramaturgy. It’s been a totally collaborative process between ourselves, the other performers, the director and the composer.


What do you feel the role of the audience is, in terms of making the meaning of your work?
The show has been developing over the last year and a half since it was originally created. Each time we perform it we get feedback from the audience and always use that feedback to develop the work further. It helps us to see what works and how understandable the narrative is. So I would say the audiences is vital.





Are there any questions that you feel I have missed out that would help me to understand how dramaturgy works for you?
Using dramaturgy in circus in the way that we are attempting to do it is still relatively new and quite challenging, we are still exploring our methodology but its always interesting to speak to other companies and hear or see how they do it. 

The Hogwallops are a vulgar, grotesque family who constantly bicker, scheme and play practical jokes on each other. Their crazy home is more like an adventure playground where the ordinary inevitably becomes extraordinary! Everyday activities take on extreme forms, simple tasks such as hanging out the washing become a clothes fight of swinging, flying bodies and fabric. Dinner time becomes a teasing game of animalistic juggling and a cooking lesson takes on dangerous proportions as household furniture stacks to the roof in a precariously balanced fashion.


Fast rising UK based contemporary circus company Lost In Translation display heart stopping virtuosic skilful aerial and floor acrobatics and a specially composed live score contributes to the mix creating a quirky and comic family show in the true sense. A treat for the eyes and ears with thrills, gasps, laughs and drama there’s plenty for both adults and children to enjoy.


‘A show with acrobats, jugglers, clowns, trapeze and mime artists, chefs, mimes – it’s like has never been seen in Rome before!’ Pennadoro, Italy


Lost in Translation is UK based with a multi-cultural membership with strong links to Belgium Italy and Australia and performers originating from Italy, France, Ireland and Australia. Founded by circus space graduates in 2006 as an acrobatic duo, the company has toured widely throughout the UK and Europe ever since. Transformed into a full-blown ensemble in 2011 the company moved to Norfolk in 2013 to become company in residence with Seachange Arts where they run the circus education program.


Their strength, flexibility and experience are their greatest assets. L I T are children of the circus, now adults, ready to share their vision of a world of fun, acrobatics and laughter.