In the early-20th century, the circuses toured Northern Ireland’s cities and towns providing entertainment and excitement to the crowds they attracted. These circuses were also known as ‘Circus on wheels”. They had acrobats, clowns, and several other performers of different acts to attract huge crowds.
Photographer H.F. Cooper documented the circuses which arrived in Strabane (a town in Northern Ireland) in his photographs. He did not photograph the acts because the cameras couldn’t capture the frame while objects are in motion. However, he managed to capture behind-the-scenes and the performers, in the middle of their rehearsals. He has scenes from the parade in Abercorn Square, Strabane, from a wall of death act (with a car, rather than a motor-bike) in the 1920s, and of the animals of the circus, including lions and a sign for ‘bears that talk’.
