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Roy Malloy - What Makes a Circus Icon?
He has been likened to Graeme Kennedy (Vic Senior, 2005) he has been called The Prince of Australian
Vaudeville (Sunday Herald Sun, 2006) and associated with carnivals, circuses and festivals all over
the country for nearly 20 years.
But who is Roy Malloy?
Roy Malloy is currently the most sought after and best known guest performer and headline act at shows,
festivals, rodeo's and large-scale events that Australia has seen since the likes of The Jimmy Sharman
Boxing troupe and Big Chief Little Wolf. As a staunch believer that the Australian carnival has a unique
culture all of its own Roy performs almost impromptu shows that are specifically tailored to that environment
to raving reviews.
"My shows are like a grand prix - very fast paced, extremely dangerous, and if something goes
wrong some one could die, but it's very spectacular." Roy
jokes. "They are also designed specifically to entertain the thronging crowds
at an outdoor event. It's not easy in some cases, because the people aren't seated; you have to stop
them and perform something so big that they will stand in the hot sun to watch it," Roy explains.
"I began performing when I was about 13. I did a small-scale magic show for children's parties,
which was all very polite. But then I went on to street theatre in Melbourne, mainly out of necessity,
and I discovered very quickly that performing isn't always easy. Once you can stop an audience who
are going to or coming from somewhere in a busy city with a lot of competing noises around you; you
can perform anywhere. After I learned some good basic street theatre skills I again revisited my illusion
show and married the two. Over the following years I began performing at festivals around the country.
It was about 10 years ago that I started leaning on and borrowing from the circus arts, prop comedy,
stand up and vaudeville when I realised that I was creating something a little unique. It seemed that
by making a hybrid art that takes from and echoes many other disciplines I could reach a wider audience
in a more versatile way."
Having performed with Robinson's Circus, Eroni's Circus, at countless festivals, agricultural shows
and events it would seem that Roy Malloy has done it all. But not so in his opinion. "I have to
say that I love performing my show because it lets me meet some of the most amazing people - and people
tend to be quite amazing. I was lucky enough to meet some of the more notable performers in our history
and people from all walks of like. It also allows me to show my children a side of life they wouldn't
otherwise see. My daughters, Bell and Jett are now performing a couple of acts as my intro and they
love coming with me when I perform."
When discussing the future Roy often reflects and accepts that there is a bittersweet side to life. "I love performing. I'm not sure that I have any more skill than any other performer. However, while I am still what most people would consider quite young, at 32. But performing my level is so physically demanding. I would still love to go on forever, but I do think that one day I will have to hang up my stilts. Thankfully I think I still have about 10 years up my sleeve so it will be fun to see where my show takes me in that time."
Roy Malloy will be comparing and hosting all live shows at the main performance area of the Tarra festival and heading up the street parade in Commercial St on the Easter Weekend
