An Appeal from Our Artistic Director
Ten years ago, the profits from our Big Top tours not only kept the show on the road, they also subsidised our community work and paid the bills. Sadly, those days are gone.
A perfect storm of austerity, Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis, soaring expenses, standstill funding, and the aftermath of Covid now means we can’t even cover the costs of our Big Top touring. Right now, we genuinely don’t know if we can keep it going.
We are grateful for the regular support we receive from the Arts Council of Wales, but it only accounts for 12% of our turnover, which is far less than most other arts organisations of a similar scale. For years, we’ve bridged the gap with international touring fees and Box Office income, but what used to be a gap has now become a chasm.
Fortunately, our community work and outdoor touring show BAMBOO continue to thrive. These are separately funded and are not under threat. But if we are forced to pack up the Big Top, not only will we lose the heart and soul of the company, but something very unique and special in the sector will disappear, possibly for good.
Touring in the Big Top allows us to pitch up anywhere, from Merthyr, Bangor and Haverfordwest to major international circus festivals across Europe. We are proud to bring world-class work to communities large and small, urban and rural, across Wales and beyond.
That’s why we’re making an extraordinary ask of the Arts Council of Wales: to help us keep bringing our Big Top circus to the people who love it.
But we need your support.
How can you help?
๐ Write a letter to Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales:
๐ง [email protected]
(Please copy us in at [email protected] so we can keep track.)
๐ Sign the petition
๐ Share our message on social media | Facebook | Instagram
๐ Your voice can help the Arts Council of Wales understand the value of our work and the impact losing the Big Top would have on audiences, the art form, the sector, and you personally.
If we have to fold up the Big Top permanently, something irreplaceable will be lost. Together, let's stop that from happening.
For press, media and other enquiries regarding this, contact [email protected]
Some more about the company and big top touring
• Since 2022, NoFit State’s large scale Big Top show SABOTAGE has been performed over 400 times in Wales, England, Ireland and mainland Europe to a total audience of more than 170,000 people in 6 countries.
• Since 2024, the company has given away 5000 free tickets to community groups and charities across the UK, benefiting those who would have otherwise not been able to attend their shows due to their financial circumstances.
• Since forming in 1986, NoFit State has consistently represented Wales on the global stage, having pitched the Big Top across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Most recently in 2025 at Ireland's leading Galway International Arts Festival, and at the Biennale Internationale des Arts du Cirque in Marseille, the largest contemporary circus festival in the world.
• Our Circus Village projects in the Big Top have provided opportunities for over 500 circus artitis who benefitted from professional development and training from world leading circus practitioners from the UK and abroad.
• In 2025, the company’s outdoor show BAMBOO was performed 66 times to over 30,000 audiences in 5 different countries, including performances at Glastonbury Festival and Sziget Festival in Budapest. Most performances were performed entirely off grid, using a solar battery system.
• NoFit State’s popular Community Programme is based at their home in Adamsdown in Cardiff and includes circus classes and training. In 2024, there were over 20,000 attendances from participants in the local area, across 565 organised activities.
• Gลตyl Parc Fest is the company’s free celebration of arts, culture, and community, which takes place annually in Adamsdown in Cardiff. In 2025, over 4500 local people attended.
• Founded in 1986 NoFit State is a registered charity with the missions of:
1. The promotion of education and training in the creative and artistic applications of circus skills and physical theatre and artistic performance.
2. The promotion and training in Circus skills and other recreational activities in the interest of social welfare for the benefit of the public with the objective of improving the conditions of life.