The art-form and entertainment we call 'circus' began on a muddy field in London just over 250 years ago. With his wife Patty, cantankerous cavalry hero and 'father of the modern circus' Philip Astley put on the first such show and took it across Britain and Europe, founding an accessible art-form for everyone. Painstakingly researched by professional Ringmaster and actor Chris Barltrop, here's the play that won five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe before touring theatres, Festivals and schools across the UK. In innovative format, illuminating and amusing, this annotated script lets us hear Astley's words while adding a detailed background to the history behind them. A unique account, a view of the dawn of the Classical circus by a respected life-long exponent who draws on his insider knowledge of circuses and their owners in a fascinating living history. Audacious Mr Astley dissolves the myths to relate how the circus really began!