Roll Up! Roll Up! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rome

The Circus Maximus was rebuilt several times. In its earliest versions it was built of wood, finally being built in stone by Trajan in the first century AD. It is believed that the first circus was built on this site as early as 500 BC.

Events that would have taken place here include festivals, races, games, feasts and religious observations.

Answer: London

The first modern circus was created by Philip Astley, who had served in the Seven Years' War as a cavalry officer. He was a talented rider, and upon leaving the army, established himself as a showman. After two years, he needed to broaden the entertainment provided in his shows, and hired clowns, acrobats and jugglers.

To showcase his show, he built an arena to perform in which he named a 'circus' due to its round shape. Many modern circus historians argue that this is the only connection between the Roman Circus and its modern day counterpart.

His second circus was opened in Paris in 1772, and after that, most large modern cities began to build their own circus buildings.

Answer: Clown

Two of the first professional stage clowns toured with Shakespeare's company. Joseph or Joey Grimaldi is recognised as the first of the professional circus clowns making his debut in 1805. He specialised in the slapstick and physical comedy often associated with modern circus clowns.

There are three types of clowns - whiteface (the type of clown associated with circuses), the Auguste (who often plays the role of the straight man and whose make up tends to be flesh tone) and the character clown, best demonstrated by the Hobo character portrayed by Charlie Chaplin.

Answer: Catherine the Great

Charles Hughes had previously been a member of Astley's show, before being invited to teach horsemanship at the Court of Catherine the Great. He is also rumoured to have been her lover during his time in Russia. His partner, Charles Dibdin, is credited with popularising the name 'circus' to describe the types of performances we know today. Dibdin was an author, musician, actor and playwright.

His best known work is 'Poor Tom Bowling' which is often performed during the 'Last night of the Proms', an annual series of concerts sponsored and broadcast by the BBC. Dibdin was a distant ancestor of Michael Hesseltine, the British politician.

Answer: North America

John Bill Ricketts (a former member of Charles Hughes troupe) introduced the circus in the town of Philadelphia. As well as the staple trick-riding, he also had a clown and rope-dancer and his wife and brother were also performers. The open air performance proved popular, and George Washington viewed a performance in April. Ricketts spent the next seven years touring the United States.

Answer: Big Top

The Big Top made it much easier for the travelling circuses to visit a larger number of towns as purpose built buildings did not have to be available. It also meant that circuses could extend or reduce the length of their stays in towns. It did not take long for circuses to take advantage of the growing rail networks to travel from town to town.

Answer: PT Barnum

There is debate about whether Old Bet was the first or second elephant to be shipped to America. She was bought by Hachaliah Bailey in 1808 and she formed part of his travelling show. Bailey grew up in the same part of New York State as Josiah Purdy Brown. Later a consortia of farmers from Somers, New York, created a company which controlled thirteen travelling menageries. Old Bet was shot by a farmer in 1816 who believed it was sinful to pay to see animals.

PT Barnum displayed an elephant's skeleton as part of his travelling show. There is some uncertainty about whether this was the skeleton of Old Bet.

Bailey, Ringling and Barnum are all circus names. They have since amalgamated into the Ringling Bros, and Barnum and Bailey circus.

Answer: Bolivia

Bolivia passed legislation in 2009 prohibiting the use of animals in circuses, while Greece passed its legislation in 2012. Similar legislation is proposed in the United Kingdom.

There have been a number of studies and inquiries into the treatment of circus animals. This has led to a the growing popularity for non-animal based circuses.

Answer: Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984, and is now the largest theatrical group in the world. There are now 19 shows in 271 cities around the world, employing over 4000 people. Circus Oz was one of the first contemporary circuses, founded in 1977 while Cirque Plume and Ra Ra Zoo both formed in 1984.

Cirque du Soleil shows have their own storyline and theme. Originally funded through a Canadian government grant the show was initially only planned to run a year, but now performs on all continents excluding Antarctica.

Answer: It is a children's only circus

The Fruit Fly Circus is for young people aged 8-18. It is a full-time training institution that teaches circus arts alongside a more traditional school curriculum. It was founded in 1979 (The International Year of the Child). Albury is a regional centre on the New South Wales/Victorian border (the River Murray). Across the river is the town of Wodonga, the two towns are referred to as Albury-Wodonga.

The Flying Fruit Fly circus does not use animals as one of its attractions, however, there are many other modern circuses who rely on acrobatic performances.