Ukraine refugees to perform in Bakewell

Circus Cortex has 16 cast members which have been successfully brought to the UK under the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme.

Each and every one of them has spent the last three months hiding from Russian forces, seeking shelter from bombs going off, going days without proper food or sleep and walking through the night in the hope that they could reach safety.

Circus artiste ‘Tetiana Lotiuk’ was caught in Kharkov when the war broke out. Separated from friends and family for nearly three months, she left the bombings and travelled for days going without sleep and food to reach the safety of Circus Cortex.

She said: "I decided that I could be killed on the first day of the war, I accepted it. it can happen I just accepted it, like I was living everyday just hoping to wake up tomorrow."

Speaking of her home country Tetiana said: " It's quite hard to go on stage and to have a big happy smile and entertain people because my mind is of those in Ukraine and so is my heart."

Due to restart back up this April, everything had to be put on hold when Irina (owner& director) awoke in late February to the news the world was dreading. Russia had invaded Ukraine. The cast had contacted Irina as soon as troops set foot, recounting the sounds of the missiles exploding and indeed of how very scared they all were.

From that moment on, Irina made it her mission to get as many acts and their families on the move and bring them safely to the UK, with 80% of the cast being Ukrainian this would be no mean feat.

Now, Circus Cortex has beaten the odds and members have expressed how thankful they are that it has been possible to put together a wonderful cast and crew in such a difficult time.

Circus Cortex are due to perform at Bakewell Showground from Thursday, June 9 to Monday, June 13. All seats are on a first come basis. Seating is not numbered or allocated.

For more information visit https://www.circuscortex.com/bakewell