Bread and Circus is back for 2023 – 30 years after the first World Buskers Festival was held.
This year’s programme will see some twists and turns, while sticking to the busking roots of the festival.
There will be something for everyone from day-time family fun for children to late-night adults-only shows.
Since the first World Buskers Festival was held in 1993, the event has grown and evolved and now includes many incredible ticketed and free shows.
Watts, a qualified wine specialist, will take you on a journey through the wonderful world of alcohol, where he is the idiot – and strangely the expert too.
Another must-see ticketed event will be The Purple Rabbit, one of the festival’s most anticipated acts.
The adult-only show will be a perfect storm of world-class misfits, with a blend of magic and mind-blowing mayhem. Get your tickets early for this one.
Then head outside to catch the magic of the street buskers who will fill the inner city with mischief and contagious energy.
There will be multiple busking pitches set up across the city, including at The Green at Te Pae, Scott Statue Park and The Bridge of Remembrance.
MulletMan and MiM will be at the various pitches throughout the festival.
MulletMan has featured at nearly every festival since 2005.
The acrobat extraordinaire will fly high, hang upside down and every other way in this high energy show.
Identical twin brothers from Argentina, Emilio and Leandro, are known as The Twins’ Trip.
Their incredible show will include a mixture of magic, juggling, cheeky antics and brave volunteers.
You can also catch these street performers at The New Regent Street Spectacular on January 20 and 21 at 7pm, 8pm or 9.30pm and January 22 at 5.30pm or 7pm.
- Bread and Circus runs until January 29. The full programme can be found here.
Bread and Circus performers set to light up street and stage
- The Purple Rabbit
From the creators of Blanc de Blanc and LIMBO, this star-studded ensemble uses trickery to put on a show that you’re unlikely to forget anytime soon.
Award-winning Australian magician and comedian Dom Chambers is known for viral internet videos and making glasses of beer appear out of thin air.
Chambers, the first Aussie-based magician to appear on Penn & Teller: Fool Us!, also featured in the America’s Got Talent semi-finals.
The Purple Rabbit will feature Chambers’ alcoholic Harry Potter, as well as the Unnamed Magician, champion beatboxer Gale, Chinese-trained juggler Emma Phillips and ‘sexual psychologist’ Harper Jones.
Tickets to The Purple Rabbit are available at www.breadandcircus.co.nz
- The Space Cowboy
Captivated children and sceptical adults will be left wide-eyed as The Space Cowboy’s magic makes them doubt what’s in front of them.
The Space Cowboy, who started performing as an 8-year-old in Byron Bay, has now amazed audiences across more than 40 countries.
He has numerous TV credits including Officially Amazing, Outrageous Acts of Science and America’s Got Talent. He rose to fame as a ‘sideshow celebrity’ and his unique visual artworks have been sold around the world.
Considered one of the most innovative sword-swallowers alive, The Space Cowboy holds 55 Guinness World Records, more than any other Australian.
Find out more about The Space Cowboy’s free shows at www.breadandcircus.co.nz
