Any Port in a Storm | Giffords Circus UK Tour, 2017
Giffords Circus’s 2017 touring production brought baroque splendor to the traditional circus tent, setting the show within the noble courts of 17th-century royalty. Directed by Cal McCrystal, the production told the story of circus performers visiting the Spanish court, blending maritime adventure with courtly elegance across the company’s traditional Cotswolds and southern England touring circuit.
takis designed costumes that captured the ornate aesthetic of the baroque period—”glorious attention has been paid to the costuming (takis), whose brocades and ruffs fit well with the sawdust ring and candlesticks.” The design balanced period authenticity with the practical demands of circus performance, creating elaborate ruffs, brocades, and courtly dress that could withstand acrobatics, juggling, and physical comedy.
This marked takis’ third collaboration with Giffords Circus, following My Beautiful Circus (2018) and Xanadu (2019). The company’s intimate circus tent—seating just 400—creates a unique design challenge, requiring costumes that register from very close proximity while maintaining the grandeur of larger theatrical productions.
Creative Team: Director: Cal McCrystal | Costume Designer: takis | Producer: Nell Gifford