Flea Circus: The Smallest Show on Earth

A talk by Tim Cockerill on the history of genuine performing flea circuses, featuring rare images and footage from his collection.

Tim Cockerill presents a talk arguing that the flea circus was, until recently, a genuine spectacle of live fleas pulling chariots, riding tricycles and duelling with miniature swords. He explains how the 'Professors' fed their fleas, which household appliance ended the flea circus in the 1950s, and how a flea could make a Victorian lady undress. The talk includes rare images and footage from Tim's flea circus collection. Cockerill is a zoologist with a PhD in tropical ecology who presented Britain's only genuine flea circus on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.