Zirkus Charles Knie – With Water Circus to new Success

The water stage of the Zirkus Charles Knie in full function (c)Zirkus Charles Knie

Who can resist the magic of a big top, erected here today and there tomorrow, becoming a place of wonder and dream for a limited time where there was only an empty meadow before? There's no question that the classic touring circus is and remains, for me, the flagship discipline of the circus world.

Few countries boast more traveling circus companies than Germany. But the major companies that hire professional artists for their programs and can compete on tour with the quality of the Christmas circuses that are booming everywhere have become rare. Their business model has been undergoing a transformation in recent years. Anyone who wants to tour with high-quality programs needs, more than ever, a compelling concept that stands out from the rest and fits the contemporary audience expectations.

A successful example of a transformation is Zirkus Charles Knie, which has been touring with the water circus concept for four years now – and with great success.

I remember a conversation with director Sascha Melnjak a few years earlier, in which he was quite critical of the long-term viability of the touring circus. In addition to the touring business, he also runs the Christmas circuses in Heilbronn and Offenburg, which are among the most popular in Germany. The contrast between success during the Christmas season on the one hand and the increasingly difficult touring business on the other had grown ever greater over the years.

Zirkus Charles Knie - atmospheric in the evening (c)Zirkus Charles Knie

Then a turning point came: the time of the coronavirus pandemic. Today, Sascha looks back on this challenging time as a time of reflection. "On tour, we were always so consumed by day-to-day business that there was little time for reflection and new ideas," he explains. During the pandemic, touring operations were suspended. Instead, as life around slowly resumed, the company built "Circusland," a regional amusement park with children's play areas, a beer garden, and shows, at its headquarters in Einbeck, Lower Saxony.

During this period of downtime, a call came in whose impact on his business Sascha couldn't have imagined at the time. The Urunov family of artists, with whom they had previously collaborated, told him about a water stage they had designed and built themselves. It is a technical masterpiece with numerous nozzles under a permeable stage surface, a storage basin underneath, and the possibility of various fountain effects controlled by electric pumps. The Urunovs were looking for a place to test this construction, and Sascha Melnjak agreed to set it up in Einbeck.

The timing was right; the part of the staff who had remained with the circus didn't have much to do, and the Urunovs weren't performing anyway. So the water stage became an attraction in Circusland. "Nice, but not for traveling," Sascha Melnjak said at the time. The technology was too complex, and setting it up and dismantling it too time-consuming. The reason he revised his assessment and gave it a try was due to a growing feeling that a change was needed if touring was to resume after the pandemic. "At first, I doubted whether it would even be possible," he admits. "Starting up an entire circus from zero is extremely difficult." At the time, it was unclear whether long-standing core staff would return to the circus, as the equipment had been stored inactively for a long time. But Sascha Melnjak felt a sense of responsibility towards the remaining staff for continuing. So ideas were needed.

The water stage was set up for the first time in the headquarter in Einbeck (c)Zirkus Charles Knie

Before the pandemic, the Zirkus Charles Knie toured with a traditional, animal-rich program. Despite Sascha Melnjak's continued love for this type of circus, business became increasingly difficult. Audiences increasingly viewed animals in circuses as controversial, media partners and clients for galas became hesitant, and the media was facing backlash. "Our image was damaged," he recalls, "we had a hard time keeping the large operation running economically."

The water circus experiment brought about the "turnaround," as the world of management would put it. On the first tour after the pandemic, they dared to take the water stage on the road. "It was a shortened tour; we didn't start until June," says Sascha, "we thought we could somehow manage it and just give it a try."

Ready for the tour - stage elements in the transport trailer (c)Zirkus Charles Knie

Technically, it was a challenge. The stage isn't really designed for travel. Setting it up takes as long as setting up the tent and the grandstand combined. The technology is prone to errors. Once, a fault occurred in the control cabinet during the entrance, and nothing worked anymore. The problem was found and resolved just in time so that the performance could go ahead as planned.

But the effort was worth it; the experiment was an immediate success. Today, Sascha Melnjak is confident that his new concept is reaching audiences that previously avoided the circus. There are more young people in the audience, and word of mouth is much more effective. In the past, visitors were also enthusiastic, but not with this euphoria. And that is a prerequisite for increasing attendance throughout a tour performance: "The concept today guarantees that we'll be sold out by the last shows in a city."

Part of the success is certainly that from the very beginning, they didn't just install a water stage, but changed the entire way the program is produced. Whereas earlier shows used to be put together a week before the premiere after the artists arrived, today ideas for the following year's show are developed, costumes commissioned, and music composed as early as the summer before the tour starts. Everything follows an opulent revue style.

The Charles Knie Ballet in magnificent costumes (c)Zirkus Charles Knie

The marketing strategy, however, remained largely unchanged. They continue to use all traditional channels, from billboard advertising to newspaper inserts to direct mail – and social media plays a significant role. Thus, the sudden increase in audience numbers also demonstrates that it's the show, the product, that really matters.

Charles Knie is deliberately not advertising the point that they are turning away from circus with animals; this is important to Sascha Melnjak. Animals still play a role in the show; since the new concept began, Laura Urunova has performed with her parrots and dogs. This is apparently more accepted than working with large animals. And yet, the lack of horse stables and animal tents behind the scenes has had an impact on the circus. Something of this special world has been lost, he says; the circus grounds have become more sober. "With the animals, it was somehow more complete," Sascha Melnjak notes, not without a touch of wistfulness.

Laura Urunova with her dogs in the show (c)Zirkus Charles Knie

And yet, it was the right decision for him – and one that will continue for some years to come. A lot of investment has been made in elaborate costumes for this season. For the investment to pay off, the show must continue. What will happen after that is not yet clear. But for Sascha Melnjak, the last few years have confirmed his certainty that the touring circus has a future.