A woman who ran away to the circus and lived in a converted M&S lorry on the road in her 20s so she would have exciting stories to tell her future grandchildren says her circus business is booming years later. Despite her peers’ disapproval, Nicole Louise Geddes, 39, turned down auditions in the West End, after attending dance college, to go to the circus.
Nicole, who lives in Portsmouth with her husband, Nathan, 40, and their son Jack, seven, ditched the typical showbiz route for a year of travelling and performing in the circus in fear of not having a unique story to tell later in life. Now, having travelled and performed all over the world, Nicole is the creative director of Manic Stage Productions, an entertainment supplier of popup circuses, and her career has gone full circle.
In 2004, at age 21, as Nicole was finishing her studies at dance college she was also auditioning for West End performances, but one day decided to take a step in a different direction.
She said: “When the job in the circus popped up, it was quite a sidestep, it was quite controversial. It was a real dilemma as to whether I went in this direction or not, which was, massively, the wrong direction in many people’s eyes.”
Nicole was inspired by her grandparents telling her fascinating stories as a child, and wanted to ensure that she had just as exciting tales for the future, saying: “It was funny because what made me make the decision was based on all of the stories that my grandparents told me about their lives and about the war, and all of that.
“As children, we all listened to these really elaborate, big, exciting stories that I just thought, one day I want to be able to turn around to my grandchildren and tell them stories that are going to wow them, that are going to be exciting and different and amazing. And the thing that literally crossed my mind was laying, as an old lady, on my deathbed and being able to say I ran away to the circus.”
Nicole explained how her friends at dance college reacted when she told them the news, saying: “It was a surprise to many.
“It was very much different from what people were expecting of me. At the college I went to, it was very much on a career path to try and reach the West End to sing and dance around the world.
“And so there was a stigma amongst peers, and it was probably more in my own head than anything else. But it was certainly not something that everybody was aspiring to be or to do at that time.”
When Nicole bagged the role at the circus, having been headhunted by a choreographer who had seen her perform once before, she was shocked at how liberating the way of life was. For the first time she met people from all cultures and nationalities, which opened up her eyes to what the world had to offer.
She said: “It was very different, quite liberating. You became very much part of a very small world.
“You were captured in this very small world that travelled around and just explored new places, but in a very small ecosystem of life.” One of Nicole’s favourite stories is when she first arrived at the circus she had the opportunity to work with animals.
She said: “Having to learn how to deal with animals and their temperaments was weird at first. It all became normal though, I thought nothing of seeing a horse dressed up as a unicorn or Pegasus at the time.
“The horses very much knew what they were doing, but you’re at their mercy as to what you did. I was also surprised to see many generations of the same family working at the circus.
“There was a grandfather, who was a retired circus performer, who worked in the box office, and his grandson performed.” Nicole explained that she found it difficult to be stripped of her home comforts at first, but soon got used to living in a converted M&S lorry with six other dancers.
One of the first skills she learned was fire performance, saying: “Working with fire suddenly gave me the fire in my belly to sort of, be different, be bigger, and I think that’s possibly where the entrepreneurial journey started.” After travelling with the circus for one year, Nicole was looking for another change, saying: “One story wasn’t going to be enough for me. I went to work in New York, I was a singer and I didn’t want to put myself in a box and be what people expected of me.”
Now, Nicole has embraced her circus roots and has set up a stage production company which incorporates circus skills, such as stilts, fire and aerial routines into its performances. The company creates performances before giving them out to its clients who are looking for circus acts.
Nicole thinks that the success of the 2017 film The Greatest Showman has changed people’s perspectives on the circus, and her business has been booming ever since it was released.
She said: “Because I’ve been in the circus, my reputation is more influential and credible. More than I could have imagined at the time, when it felt to me like it was the wrong choice. I’m glad to be back working with the circus, I think I took my experience for granted at the time.”
Looking back on her experience, Nicole explained: “I think it opened my eyes to the world, and taught me to not be judgmental, and take any opportunity with open arms, regardless of what everyone else thinks.”
