One wonders what circus matriarch Phyllis Ashton would think of her family's latest act Infamous, a cabaret circus sensation. It's an over 18 show, a mix of circus acts and burlesque. It's not afraid to tease, and perhaps even please, with skin and plenty of sex appeal.
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"Oh she would have loved it," says her grand-son Joseph, a sixth-generation circus artist and show producer.
"It's got everything she liked, the trapeze, the wheel of death, the acrobats, contortionists."
Joseph, his wife Michelle and son Jordan, as well as other performers from Infamous visited Phyllis Ashton Circuit in Gungahlin on Thursday. The street was named after Phyllis in 2002 in recognition of her contribution to the entertainment industry.
Apparently Phyllis would have loved the idea of Jordan hanging horizontally from her street sign, always proud that circus skills were passed down the line through her children and grandchildren.
Her own parents were wire-walkers, trapeze artists and jugglers, her mother appeared on the wire the night before Phyllis was born in 1918.
She was only a small girl when she met Doug Ashton whose family had founded the circus in 1832. They married in 1936 and went on to have three children, running the circus through lean years during the Second World War before a boom in the post war years during the '50s. Phyllis died in 1995 at the age of 82.
"She was five foot nothing but she was feisty when she needed to be," says Joseph.
"You have to remember in those days they had to do everything.
"She was a very good performer, they were all versatile, they did everything, trapeze and bare-back riding and all sorts of stuff as well as run the show.
"They trained us from when we were little, we learned all the circus skills from the older generations, just like I've passed them on to my kids.
"With the popularity of circuses now a lot of kids go to circus school to learn the arts but in this family business you learn from the generations before you."
Joseph says he thinks this pedigree has helped shaped Infamous, that there's a particular feel to it.
"As well as all the circus acts, we've got singing and dancing, burlesque," he says.
"People think it's something new but it's not. Circus has always been a variety performance and this has just taken it to another level."
The big top has been reconfigured to resemble a Spiegeltent with some of the seats placed ringside with tables and an alcoholic bar service provided - one of the reasons for the restricted entry.
Infamous was derived from The Big Top Tease, an annual two-week season of racier performances Ashtons had been putting on in Perth for the past few years.
Infamous is on in the Big Top on Majura Road, corner Spitfire Avenue (opposite Costco), Majura Park from November 10 to December 17, Friday to Sunday. For adults only:18+ Tickets: Section A $32.50. Section B $24.63. Ringside $95.20. Ringside Table $125.95. Bookings: 0411302095 or infamous.net.au.
