Running Away with the Circus began life as letters home to friends and colleagues during my three months with the American Universal Circus on tour in Taiwan, one of the most truly bizarre experiences of my life (so far). I knew that I wanted to turn them into a book when my friend, television producer Norman Campbell threatened (jokingly) to bootleg them and publish them under his own name.

In real life, I am a composer-lyricist for the musical theatre. My night-time day job has usually involved working backstage in various London West End theatres. However, on one occasion in 1997, I found myself facing nursing a broken heart, unemployment and - worse yet - taking on a soul destroying job to make ends meet. Then an ad appeared in The Stage for circus workers. I jumped at it. A team of psychiatrists in the employ of my family then jumped on me. But I went anyway.

Nothing could have prepared me for this experience. (Not that any attempt was made to prepare me - I was fed a shocking litany of disinformation: nobody would even tell me what sort of clothes to bring.) I found myself in a foreign country with no understanding of the language or culture, doing a job that was deeply embroiled in local politics.

The impresario, Mr. Hsu Po-yun, who was presenting the circus, was deeply connected with the ruling Nationalist party, who for the first time in history were losing their grip on power. As a result, we were being refused routine permits, while facing down police corruption and being greeted by animal rights protesters (whom we learned had more than a few valid points).Our troubles really began when, two weeks into our trip, we were forced to take down our tent because of an approaching typhoon. The cultural misunderstandings began to pile up when we asked for a six-ton forklift and were given a four-ton and a two-ton instead.

But the show went on, and I had a chance, in between guarding tigers and putting up tents, to explore some of the little-known tourist sites of Taiwan, including the Pescadores Islands, Sun-moon Lake and the spectacular Alishan Forest Railway. We visited Taipei, Taichung, Touliu, Kaohsiung and Chia-Yi before it became clear that the reason why we were being paid late was not really because the cashier didn't get to the bank on time. After the promoters threatened to make one of our staff "disappear" if he didn't stop demanding his pay, we left in a very big hurry.

Reviews:

From Lulu.com:

By Ged Crefin

9-Jun-2013

I worked on this tour and although not a veteran of reviewer Al Buchan’s standing, I too had never experienced anything like it. Al is not joking when he says it was ‘at the time, far from funny’ but it would be disingenuous to claim it was all bad and many friendships - and more - were forged in the white heat of what must have been for many, a once in a lifetime experience. The fact that I was there undeniably colours my opinion of Mel’s book, it really was a treat to read, but the subject matter and the author’s affable wit and personality should make this a work which appeals to more than just your touring theatrical types. Mel’s account of his experience as a security guard on a circus touring Taiwan is told with wry humour and charm. Successfully combining travelogue and bite size anecdote to recapture the sense of lunacy, he achieves a fine balance between the more serious stuff - animal cruelty, threats and violence towards the crew - and the often hilarious, often downright absurd. Dividing the book into theatrical Acts and scenes works well, Act IV scene 2 passed the laugh out loud test - several times - and the decision to feature photographs of the trip nicely augments Mel’s genial ‘Westerner abroad’ approach. The inclusion of historical and cultural info locates the action nicely without ever being too dry; the trip on the Alishan Forest Railway (Mel is a rail enthusiast as well as a theatre buff!) nicely invokes a sense of rural East Asia away from all the madness. Running Away With The Circus concludes nicely with well judged attributes of fond reminiscence and 'where are they now?' curiosity attended to. This is very much Mel’s book and he has avoided the temptation to create a work of sensationalist stories with limited interest at the expense of the Taiwanese. Of course the ‘culture clash’ informs much of the craziness but Mel’s book has the overall tone indicative of a man who sees the good – and the funny – in all people with the possible exception of the ubiquitous Sweetpea, Mel’s roommate and nadir who has the unenviable ability to push even the equitable Mr Atkey to the edge. Al Buchan does have a point though when he says that Mel’s account is ‘only about half of it’ – I know because I was there – but rather than taking anything away from Mel’s wonderful book, it makes me wonder if anyone might be up for putting together a more unashamedly anecdotal, no-holds-barred supplemental based on interviews?… Ged Crefin

By Al Buchan

7-Jun-2013

I was on this tour with Mel and when I got wind of this book I couldn't wait to get a copy. Having read it I can now at last laugh about it. It was safely the worst tour I have ever been on (I've been touring all over the world with shows from rock to ballet for nearly 25 years). Mel has written very accurately and humorously on, what at the time, was far from funny. I spoke to Mel after I read the book to congratulate him on a job well done and to offer him a forward to the manuscript which would simply read. "Believe it or not what follows actually happened and indeed is only about half of it" A must read for all touring folk. Al Buchan

From Goodreads:

Jun 26, 2013 Jennifer King rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent lay out of the book with creative headings and potent pictures. Bits of history flowed with the true story. Unique true life storytelling!

19 Jan 2014 Wendy Jensen rated it 3 of 5 stars

An entertaining true story. The author has a natural, humourous way of describing different events and people. In his late 30's, he was looking for a change in his life and "ran away with the circus". The book describes not only the struggles working with a dishonest employer but also some of his side trips as he wanted to see a bit of the world. There are hirings, firings and rehirings. He takes you behind the scenes - crappy living conditions, working long hours, safety concerns, the treatment of the animals and working with people from various nationalities.

From Amazon:

2 October, 2013 Carroll S. Collins

" A Fascinating tale." .. "A very unique saga and delightfully told....it was most interesting to read about this fellow's adventures abroad ....definitely a fun read."

27 August, 2013 jill in DerbyOn Amazon.co.uk

Most ( some ?? ) children dream about running away to join a circus.. this book shows us what happens when an adult runs away to do just that. The author saw it as a chance to travel and see the world.. what he didn't expect to see was the other side of circus life.. the living in grotty rooms.. sleeping in a container . no rest .. and some of the crueller side of the circus life. Parts of the book made difficult reading for me, I've only ever been to one circus in my life and that was many years ago as a child, even then I felt awkward.. I felt the animals shouldn't be made to do so called tricks for us and I'm not surprised that it is now only human acts that are appearing in most circus rings. The staff weren't paid, any excuse not to and this made life even more hard. It said amusing in parts in the book review but I didn't find this funny . It was an eye opener to the world of circus life.. I was glad in the end when the whistle was blown on this awful set up.

"worth a read" 19 Mrs A. C. Leese December, 2013 On Amazon.co.uk

Anyone who wants to runaway to the circus should read this, life is what you make. Take a chance on life.

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© 2013 Mel Atkey