Baba Baboon!
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Home
  • News
    • Local News

      • Community
      • Charity
      • Music
      • Sport
      • Local Information
    • Business

    • What’s On

      • Reviews
      • Guest Blogs
      • What’s On
    • Lifestyle

      • Entertainment
      • Food & Drink
      • Fitness & Leisure
  • PR & Media Services
    • Services
    • Our Work
  • About
    • Why BabaBaboon?
    • Business Promotion
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Local News, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire News

New exhibition showcasing Circus legend in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Statue of Philip Astley

Local born showman, performer and Philip Astley expert Andrew Van Buren has produced an exhibition of items relating to the local legend which are on display in Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Centre.

The exhibition – which is displayed in the windows of the Appetite led-project, Newcastle Common, on Astley Walk – features gems from Van Buren’s own collection, bringing together items about Astley and circus.

The exhibition is located in the windows of the larger Newcastle Common, on the corner of Lad Lane and Astley Walk and will run until the end of August.

The jewel in the crown of the exhibition is the original life-sized statue of Philip Astley, sculpted by renowned artist Andy Edwards, whose more recent work includes the Beatles walking down the street in Liverpool, The Truce statue commemorating the World War I Christmas Day football match in ‘No Man’s Land’ between the German and British soldiers and most recently, the life-sized statue of the Bee Gees unveiled in the Isle of Man.

Philip Astley expert Andrew Van Buren said: “I commissioned and funded the making of the statue in 1991 as part of our 1992 celebration of Philip Astley’s birth. He lived hidden from sight until I dragged him out of storage in 2009 when I started the drive to create tourism and a unique selling point for Newcastle-under-Lyme through locally born Philip Astley – the Original Ringmaster, Military Hero and creator of the circus. I truly believe that Astley can do for Newcastle what Shakespeare has done for Stratford-Upon-Avon and it is wonderful that so many people have begun embracing the idea. Working with Appetite and the Philip Astley Project has proved a wonderful collaboration.”

Appetite Director Gemma Thomas said: “It’s fitting that the first exhibition in Newcastle Common is about local legend Philip Astley. The Philip Astley Project, which Appetite is a part of, is all about shouting about this trail blazer of a man, and celebrating all things circus. It’s thanks to the generosity of Andrew that we’re able to share some of his amazing Astley collection for all to enjoy and hopefully be inspired by, to produce the next generation of circus enthusiasts.”

Andrew added: “I am so pleased that for the entire month of August our exhibition can be seen in Lad Lane, especially with the statue as a focal point standing in the very lane that Astley lived in as a young boy. Astley really has come home and the world is watching”.

Karl Shaw the New York Times Best Selling Author of the Philip Astley biography The First Showman said: “From the perspective of our age it is hard to grasp just how huge the circus once was. Before TV and cinema it was the world’s most popular spectator event and as we glorify footballers and actors today, the public once worshipped performers of the circus ring. Philip Astley invented it all. He was the first person to put a clown in the ring and combine comedy with horsemanship. His Taylor’s Ride routine is arguably the progenitor of all slapstick comedy. In fact so many things he brought to the circus are still exactly the same today. The traditional colours of the circus, the red, blue and gold were his army regimental colours, the ringmaster’s military coat and black riding boots, the smell of sawdust, first used to cover the floor of his original circus, even the size of the ring at 42ft or 13metres, still identical the world over – all Philip Astley’s creation. It’s fantastic to see his life celebrated once again in his home town.”

The Newcastle Common programme is focused on the changing Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre, transforming empty shops and the high street into places of art and creativity.

**Follow BabaBaboon on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram 

**Read more LOCAL News on BabaBaboon here  & please sign up to our Newsletter

**Tune into Baba meets… – BabaBaboon’s very own Podcast helping to share your community & business News

17th August 2021/by Baba
https://www.babababoon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Statue-of-Philip-Astley-at-Newcastle-under-Lyme-College.jpg 533 800 Baba https://www.babababoon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Baba-Baboon-logo-180.png Baba2021-08-17 12:42:252021-09-01 15:01:52New exhibition showcasing Circus legend in Newcastle-under-Lyme
You might also like
Eric-New-VicEric returns to the New Vic for the Full Monty
Kidsgrove-canalCanals inspire creativity in new series of projects for the Kidsgrove community
Student volunteers Gurmilan-Preet-Singh-Jude-Worrell-and-Siana-HoldingStudent led Sports Academy helps communities to get active
David-Breese-NUL-BIDNew Business Engagement Officer joins Newcastle-under-Lyme BID
Love-NUL-Business-Awards-2023Newcastle-under-Lyme BID Announce Winners at LoveNUL Business Awards
Belong-residents-and-Andrew-Van-Buren-August-2023Circus-themed Celebrations Continue at Belong
Chris-Steers-RadioStaffs duo celebrate radio awards hattrick
Hollie-sarah-hollies-haberdashery-NUL-business-boost-awards-2021Business Boost Award Winners 2021

Search for an article

Latest Articles

  • Future-journalist-awards-2024Future Journalist Awards 20248th December 2023 - 10:34 am

    Staffordshire University Future Journalist Awards 2024.

  • AJ-African-Caribbean-Shop-longtonA taste of African and Caribbean culture for new Longton store8th December 2023 - 10:26 am

    AJ African and Caribbean is a new store set for Longton Exchaneg Shopping Centre.

  • BelongNewcastle-under-LymeNewcastle care village achieves gold standard for end-of-life care6th December 2023 - 2:23 pm

    Belong Newcastle-under-Lyme achieved a top score for the Gold Standards Framework assessment.

  • thistley-hough-school-23Academy allotment provides life skills and fresh food6th December 2023 - 2:18 pm

    Thistley Hough Academy have created their own allotment.

  • CHRISTMAS-ELF-STAFFS 2Elf and Wellbeing campaign highlighting assistive technology gifts6th December 2023 - 1:58 pm

    A campaign to highlight low-cost assistive technology products is taking place in Staffordshire.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe to Baba’s newsletter to receive positive news straight to your inbox. Stay up to date with news of upcoming events and local business offers – plus competitions coming soon!

Click here to sign up today

Get In Touch Today

Name
Consent(Required)

@Babababoon.co.uk

@BabaBaboon2017

@babababoon2017

@BabaBaboon

@SonyaFarrall

@Babababoon.co.uk

@BabaBaboon2017

@babababoon2017

@BabaBaboon

@SonyaFarrall

Get In Touch Today

Name
Consent(Required)

© Copyright Baba Baboon. All rights reserved. | Website by Clyq
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
What’s in a Cheesy Naan Bread? With blogger Ayshacheesy-naan-breadFamily-by-Family-Shared-Lives-2021Family Fun Day set for Hanley Park
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsHide notification onlySettings

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Accept settingsHide notification only