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DEATH DROP AT THE BIG TOP
BRAND NEW FOR 2026!
1932
All is not well at Chipolata’s famous travelling circus with dwindling business at the greatest show on Earth! Circus owner Vinnie Chipolata has been struggling to make ends meet for the past 6 months with rising costs, new and bigger circus rivals and a string of unfortunate animal deaths. There is still hope as the country’s most coveted double-act The Fabulous Flying Flip and Tulula Hoop still bringing in the crowds with their various daring acts. This evening there was horror on the high-wire as Flip’s tightrope snapped sending him plummeting to the sandy floor of the big top leaving the audience terrified. The circus grit their teeth and await the news of Flip’s condition. Will the show go on or will murder put a stop to the fun in the big top?
THEMES AND INSPIRATION: Circus, Carnival, The Greatest Showman, 1930s
Meet the Suspects
VINNIE CHIPOLATA - the tough but big-hearted owner of Chipolata’s travelling circus. It’s no secret that the future of the circus is struggling financially and Vinnie is concerned the big top’s days are numbered. Tough times resulted in most of the circus staff walking out in the past few days leaving only his most loyal performers to run the show.
MAXIMUS THRILL - the charismatic ring master at Chipolata’s circus. He’s a good friend of Vinnie and didn’t walk put with the rest of the staff, even though he’s not been paid in weeks. With the lack of staff and Vinnie distracted with the financial woes, Maximus has taken on more of a stage management and director role.
TULULA HOOP - Tulula Hoop is the glamourous second half of The Fabulous Flying Flip’s double act and is also his fiancee. The pair perform various skills such as hula hoops, flying trapeze, high-wire and more daring feats! Tulula is always by Flip’s side and wherever he goes, she goes.
CHARLIE CHUCK (CHUCKLES THE CLOWN) - Chuckles the Clown is the heart and soul of the circus and arrived at the circus around a year ago. Like his other co-stars, Chuckles has not been paid recently for his performing work but still seems happy to muck in to get each show on its feet. With stage management walking out earlier in the week, Chuckles was told to rig Flip’s high-wire for the last show.
MYSTIC MADGE - Mystic Madge is another long standing member of the performance team with her popular animal charming and hypnotism act. She hasn’t been performing as much as she would like recently with the sudden and unexplained deaths of quite a few of the animals in her act. This is another blow to the circus with the loss of valuable assets, but with Madge’s ‘get stuck in’ attitude, she hasn’t time to be upset.