Page 23 - The Outdoor Showman January - March 2025

RODEO NEWS
the old Sydney Showground, at
Moore Park, Eastern Suburbs.
The usual (for it) big houses.
Ashtons
Ashton Entertainments scheduled
performances and workshops at
Caboolture Showgrounds, north of
Brisbane, January 22 to February 2.
Now run by Chantel Rodriguez
and husband Jefferson, it features
Motorcycle Globe, lots of aerials,
skill acts and comedy.
They subsidise entry prices for
disabled patrons and their carers.
Wire Walkers
There have been four basic types
of wire (and rope) walkers:
1. High wire: Ashley Brophy, Chonko, Mark
Robinson, Lindsay Lennon, The Wallendas,
Blondin, Tim Coldwell, Phillippe Le Petit.
2. Bounding tight wire (usually two
metres off ground): Con Colleano, Alice
Grant, Dummy Perry, Alby Perry Senior,
Alby Perry Junior, Joe Perry, Jimmy
Perry, Adam Stevens, Pepe Ashton,
Tyrone O’Reilly, Sonnyboy Gasser,
Frances Gasser, Kevin Hunt (Keldar), Tony
Maynard, Eve Everard, Luke Forrester, Ms
Dobrov, Terry Wells, Peter Gray, Gustavo
Barrales, Charlie Ridgway, Michael
Stanton, Rosita Belli, Clive Harrison.
(2a): Inclined Wire: Clive Harrison,
3. Bounding slack (wire or
rope): Arturo Gomez.
4. Slack wire: Mervyn Ashton, Rene
Katheriner, Peter Waller, Merrick Ashton,
Bevan Rayner, Scott Grayland.
Eroni’s Circus
Tony and Cathy Maynard’s Eroni’s
Circus has a new Italian Big Top.
It’s in the show’s colours: red and white,
no quarter poles, and bigger and better.
It arrived in November and went up for the
first time in the New Year at Cowes, Phillip
Island, Victoria. Next stop, Wonthaggi.
Ringmaster Lewis Freeman-Harrison
has settled in, so Cathy now attends to
back-of-house management, appearing
in the ring only to assist the animal acts.
Victoria crowds!
What a difference six months makes!
Last winter, there were circuses, not
quite wall-to-wall, in Queensland.
Now, it’s like that in Victoria - the
way it was, ten years ago.
Silvers, Royale and Eroni’s are almost
permanent fixtures. Circus Rio started
in February in Melbourne, likely to stay.
Warren and Yasmin Brophy have taken
out a Monster Truck Show, starting
at Mildura., with dates booked in
country Victoria (barring bushfires.)
Their son Wokka does Xtreme stunts,
including Globe, Wheel and motorbikes.
Ralph died on December 12. The wake
was January 4, with a large roll-up of
show business colleagues and friends.
Lassu
After years involved with Pepe
Ashton’s ‘Infamous’ cabaret-circus,
and before that, Circus Joseph Ashton,
seventh-generation performer
Merrik Ashton is involved in a new
cabaret-circus production, Lassu.
It opened in a brand-new
30-metre Spiegeltent Italian structure
(white with black trimmings) for
January’s Perth Fringe Festival.
Director-choreographer Mitchell
Woodcock calls it a “Cosmic
Cabaret Saloon” production.
Merrik was a Gold Clown third-tier winner
a few years ago, at the Monte Carlo
World Circus Federation Championships.
His world-class slack wire act includes
a handstand on the un-supported
wire, unicycle, one-hand juggling, side-
balance ladder and slick presentation.
Joel Howlett
Joel Howlett, Newcastle professional
magician, appeared with Harrington’s
circus Show over the holiday season.
Pictured here with daughter Mia,
who appears in the show.
This picture featured in the Brisbane
Courier-Mail, Friday, January 24.
Jordan Lennon
Jordan Lennon, 23, is the son of Warren
and Danielle Lennon, former management
team and part-owners of Lennon’s Circus.
In 2024, they successfully ran ‘Scandalous’,
owned by Shane and Nancy Lennon,
on the North Queensland run. Jordan
was its versatile choreographer/
aerialist and lead performer.
They also run The Dance Studio,
Springfield (Ipswich), largest
dance studio on Brisbane’s south
side (up to 400 students.)
Jordan trained with New Zealand
Ballet, and performed in Korea, with
offers from Germany and America.
Here he leads in Ballet Theatre
Queensland’s classical and contemporary
world premiere production of ‘Snow
White.’ It had 80 dancers, 24-voice choir
and 40-piece orchestra, performing on
the Grand Stage of the multi-million-dollar
showpiece Concert Hall at
Queensland Performing
Arts Centre, South Bank,
over the Australia Day
Weekend.
By John MacDonnell
Chad Morgan and Gary Grant
Ray Kelroy, Gail and John
Joel Howlett
Harringtons
Janzen Grant’s damaged van
THE OUTDOOR SHOWMAN 21