Fools Delight returns this summer 2026 with a brand new Circus dinner show. Tickets for our summer show go live in March!
Our
Projects
Fools Delight is an ambitious rural arts company bringing vibrant circus dinner shows to West Oxfordshire each summer. What began as a ten-day production at a single venue is now poised for an exciting new chapter.
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Over the next three years, we plan to grow into a touring summer company, performing across at least three venues and reaching wider rural audiences with our unique blend of circus, storytelling, and shared feasting.
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To realise these wildly wonderful ambitions, we are committed to growing sustainably — expanding our reach while creating meaningful, funded opportunities that properly support and champion our artists.
Young Fools
'Young Fools' is an ambition of ours and something we realised we've done organically over the years. We are currently looking at ways we can bring this to life in a programme of residencies, sharing everything we have learned in a formal structure.
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We want to create a fully funded four-week creative residency designed to support early career artists by providing structured mentoring, hands on experience, and creative development within a professional touring circus environment. In short, we want to give emerging artists opportunities that we never had, and experience that is so rare within the arts sector.
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Participants will work across directing, performance, design, music, production, ticket sales and marketing, collaborating to devise and present a live circus production in a rural setting. The programme emphasises experimentation, interdisciplinary practice, and professional touring skills. We are currently exploring how we can turn this ambition into a reality.
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Raf Shah (below with Lil) is an artist that has directly benefitted from Lil's mentoring;
"Fools Delight was one of my first contracts as a professional circus artist. Under excellent direction and guidance from its founder and good friend Lil Rice, Fools Delight was in many ways a huge stepping stone for my future in circus. As the finale act in a beautiful duet with Lil, the exposure i received lead to many opportunities that ultimately shaped the successful career I have today."
