Coming up at Jackson’s Lane this week is a performance from new contemporary circus company Kook Ensemble of their first show ‘Filibuster’.

I love the sound of this show, not least because it’s inspired by silent movie actors like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. 

And while the company is new, its co-founders are highly seasoned pros. I spoke to Cirque du Soleil alumnus Sean Kempton, one of those co-founders, who also co-created the show, to find out more.  

CM: Can you start by telling us what the show is about? Does it tell a story? Where does the narrative take us? 
SK: The show follows Bertie, a privileged young gent who has turned his back on his family wealth and sets up home in a broken-down remote cottage and waits for his love to come… or is he hiding from the pressures of the outside world?

The show follows his long wait, as he attempts to break his monotony and fight off his demons. With Kook, we always try to weave a solid story through our circus telling.

Tom Gaskin, my co-creator, is an amazing gentleman juggler – juggling and manipulating everyday objects – and a great clown, which makes it easy to hang a show off. Our productions balance between tenderness and joy in equal measures.

CM: What themes does the show explore? 
SK: With ‘Filibuster’, we explore loneliness, isolation and companionship.

CM: What made you want to focus on this setting and these ideas? What was the inspiration for it? 
SK: We wanted to find a way to isolate the character as much as possible. We also wanted to make an environment where the world could affect him and cause constant problems. A broken-down leaking cottage by a cliff side with an oncoming storm seemed a suitable problem for him.

It is also a place which is very different from his own world, so he has to adapt to survive. We based the start of the show in 1916. This was a time where there was great change for the landed gentry and the whole world was starting to crumble.

In the middle of the First World War, we were about to step into a moment of social upheaval and conscription was about to hit full effect. There seemed to be quite a lot of similarities between where we are now and this time.

CM: Are you a fan of silent movies and the stars of that era? Who and what influenced the show? 
SK: Both Tom and I are massive fans of the silent movie comedians. They are such a bedrock of modern comedy and we both grew up watching them.

Buster Keaton is a particular favourite. He was a good reference for the show, he is brutally acrobatic and plays with visual images and camera angles.

More crucially, the world always seems to be at odds with him, the world gives him problems that he deals with in a deadpan efficient way, this became a template for us.

CM: You and Tom worked together to create the show. Can you tell us a bit about how the collaboration came about and how the creative process worked for you? 
SK: A few years back Tom approached me to create a show with him. Pre-COVID we worked together for a few weeks developing ideas and a mini structure. We created a world incorporating his amazing skills and a loose storyline formed. We then had to park the development but picked it up again this year.

We fleshed out the show and then got in a room and played. We both have very similar imaginations and in-between laughing a lot, rapidly built a strong structure for the show.

We wanted to make sure that the picture visuals were as rich as possible and, in each situation, how could we make it worse for the character?

I follow a creative process of daydreaming and developing as much material and ideas as possible that are not necessarily connected. Then I go into studying the research, seeing what fits our theme, the world we are creating and finding the coincidences.

This is followed by a fixation or putting together of scene logics. Finally we add all the detail, nuance and colour that we can, and the result is what we are touring at the moment!

CM: Kook Ensemble is a new venture, isn’t it? What prompted you to begin your own thing and what hopes/aims do you have for it? 
SK: Yes, we are a new company, however my co-founder, Michaela O’Connor, and I have been working as performers and creatives for 30 years.

Over this time, we have been developing our own approach to how we work with circus artists and how we look at the intersection of circus and theatre.

We have been lucky enough to build and create many pieces of work for other people. However often this came with constraints that didn’t allow us to fully play in the way we want.

We felt now was the time where we could step out and make work that we fully believe in, and give us an opportunity to get back to my beautiful home county of North Devon.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about yourself now? How did you come to be working in this sphere? Were you always interested in it? 
SK: I initially trained as an actor and physical performer at Rose Bruford College. It was a healthy mixture of hefty method acting and devising work/clown/street.

I then went on to work in rep, TV and Theatre In Education. I was really missing being physical though, and an advert came up to train for the Millennium Dome Show in what is now The O2.

I wanted to understand how my acting training would fit into this world, so I applied. I was well out of my depth but somehow got in and found myself throwing my body from a 180-foot ceiling three times a day.

Out of this, we set up a company called the Generating Company where we built circus shows with a touch of theatre for a few years. I left to build work and shows with Franco Dragone, who was an early and arguably the most successful contemporary circus director.

This led me to Cirque du Soleil, where I worked for many years, starting as a clown and moving into performer creator roles. I was coming home and building small pieces of work and trying to understand what I wanted to make, which eventually led me to where I am.

I never saw circus on my horizon but I always knew I wanted to perform and be in the arts.

CM: What steps did you take to build a career in this space? How would you describe your ‘job’ and the work you do? 
SK: If you look at my CV it is pretty eclectic. Like any artist you often do most things to survive and eventually build work around you.

At first, I was just trying to get a job and play. All the time making work for myself to keep my brain from imploding. As work settled a bit, I built clear targets. Companies I could work with in the short term, people I wanted to aim to work with, and unachievable goals.

For the unachievable companies, I set them as five-year plans, gradually made contact, let them know about my work and built relationships until eventually an opportunity came up. I am lucky to be in a field of work I love, so it doesn’t take much to put 170% effort in and have fun whilst doing so.

Essentially, I get to play and daydream all day. I work with amazing and extraordinary human beings and get to travel the world. Definitely fortunate to be combining directing, teaching and performing: they all inform each other.

CM: What have been the highlights of your working life thus far?
SK: Running out on stage with Michaela at the Albert Hall giggling to ourselves, not quite believing our luck. There is always something in me that doesn’t quite believe that I still get to do this. I do each year laugh to myself when I realise, OK that’s 30 years and I am still able to work like this!

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future? 
SK: I really want to continue working with Michaela and other good people making exciting work that resonates with an audience. Anything else that comes from that is a bonus!

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this?
SK:  We have a few projects coming up. We are currently setting our tour out for our next show ‘Sand’.  It is a beautiful acrobatic show based on dementia and coastal erosion. Touring from May next year, see you there!

‘Filibuster’ is on at Jacksons Lane on 18 Oct, head to the venue website here to find out more.

LINKS: jacksonslane.org.uk | kookensemble.com | x.com/seankempton