Biography

Zippos Circus was established by Martin Burton (b.1954) in 1986. Martin, a qualified teacher with an interest in performance, started to work with a mime troupe in the 1970s and by 1976 he was pursuing a career in clowning. On the following three years Martin appeared many times at London’s Roundhouse with his clowning act, which was followed by a tour of Australia.

In 1980 Martin suffered a serious accident while performing a fire eating act and was hospitalised for a year while undergoing reconstructive surgery. Once he recovered he started training with veteran acrobat Johnny Hutch (1913-2006), who had famously won the Circus World Championships aged 64 years old. Martin never thought of establishing his own circus until he met Johnny, who eventually convinced him to become an impresario. Martin applied for a grant from British Petroleum for a unique and modern design of circus tent and started operating Zippos circus in 1986 on Highbury Fields. From the onset, Zippos Circus was a very modest, animal free show, which relayed heavily on the quality of the performers and the entertainment provided by the clowns. The initial cast was formed by four clowns, two jugglers and a pianist, over the years the cast grew to offer a range of performances and include equestrian acts as well as Sir Norman Barrett’s budgerigar act. Norman Barrett (b.1935) joined Zippo Circus’s as its Ringmaster in c.2004 and he still remained in this role in 2021.

Zippos Circus also presents Cirque Berserk, a theatre stage based circus show. Martin also set up the Academy of Circus Arts, a circus training programme running from May to September every year to train new talent.

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