Last year, Chris Mayhew had already visited Ukraine and witnessed firsthand how children continue to train in circus schools under extremely difficult conditions. He served as a jury member at the Yaskrava Arena festival and also took part in the CircusLife photo exhibition “Ukrainian Circus During the War.” After returning to Australia, in April–May 2025, he presented this exhibition to Australian audiences, telling the story of the Ukrainian circus during wartime.
This time, Chris’s return has a different purpose — the creation of a full-length documentary film and a documentary vlog about the Ukrainian circus during the war. Our ambitious plan includes 10–15 episodes, in which we will showcase:
- the work of the National Circus of Ukraine;
- life and training in children’s circus schools;
- key circus festivals across Ukraine;
- the stories of individual circus artists;
- the everyday reality of circus art under wartime conditions.
This will be a comprehensive documentary about art that does not stop despite shelling, power and water outages, and constant danger. It is a story about a circus that continues to create work of the highest quality and remains in demand around the world.
On December 2, 2025, the first founding meeting of our team took place: we set up the project, outlined the structure of future episodes, and planned the filming route. The first stop will be the final show “Siaivo” at the National Circus of Ukraine. Next come the Yaskrava Arena festival, Odesa Iron Circus Fest, and many other events and stories.
Learn more about CircusLife and Chris Mayhew ideas behind the projects: How Ukrainian and Australian Circus Can Grow Together?
You can follow the development of the project, our travels, and our meetings on CircusLife Instagram, as well as on the official project page The Ukrainian Circus During the War.
If you would like to support our project or join us as a partner, please contact the editor of CircusLife, Maksym Sydorenko, at maxb2b4@gmail.com.
Watch the Bla Bla Circus podcast to learn more about Chris Mayhew’s 2024 journey to Ukraine, the connections between the Ukrainian and Australian circus industries, and what makes Ukrainian children exceptional circus artists.
