Difference between revisions of "The Reverhos"

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Acrobatic Jugglers

By Dominique Jando

From the early 1930s through the late 1950s, The Reverhos were major circus and variety performers; however, they didn't leave the same mark in circus history as other, less talented performers may have. The reason is probably that their act was difficult to classify: It mixed juggling, acrobatics, and hand- and head-balancing, some of it performed on a slack wireA Tight Wire, or Low Wire, kept slack, and generally used for juggling or balancing tricks.—and the sheer difficulty of their vast repertoire prevented imitations. The fact that they worked principally on variety stages is perhaps another factor. Nonetheless, their act was extremely spectacular and has remained unique to this day.

From Bricklaying to The Variety Stage

It was created by two French brothers who were not born in the circus, nor in the entertainment business for that matter: They began their professional lives as brick masons. Gustave Revereau (1902-1969) was born on February 8, 1902, in Bressuire, a small town in the Deux-Sèvres department, in the Poitou province. His brother André (1906-1996) followed him there four years later, on June 2, 1906. Their father, Adrien, was a Master Brick Mason, and they were destined to follow in his footsteps—which they did. At first…

Predictably, the brothers were very physical and, in their spare time, they joined a local gymnasium where they learned the basics of acrobatics, mostly by imitating their elders—among whom circus artists who trained there to improve their act or create new ones during their off time between seasons, as it was customary then: Many a circus career at the time began in one of these gymnasiums. There, Gustave and André must have seen some jugglers practice, and they began to learn juggling by themselves, developing in time a solid foundation.

Performers who trained along them were duly impressed by the brothers' skills, and they eventually suggested they build a juggling act. And so did Gustave and André, juggling with tennis rackets at first. However, they quickly began to add a few spectacular acrobatic elements to their act: André juggled upside-down, head-balancing, while passing clubs with Gustave, and Gustave performed a one-arm stand, twirling hoops on his balancing cane, his free hand, and his feet: Traditional juggling increasingly became just an appetizer to the rest of the act. It was highly original, and through their gymnasium connections, they soon attracted agents' attention.

They made their true professional debut in 1928 in Paris, at Bobino, a popular and quite ancient café-concert and theatre in Montparnasse, in Paris’s Left Bank, which had just been transformed into a modern, bona fide music-hall (the French equivalent of an American vaudeville theatre). They were dressed in Pierrots then, but they would soon change to trendier outfits, loosely inspired by Douglas Fairbanks's costume in the Hollywood movie The Thief of Bagdad (1924), replete with open shirts and bandanas. They also chose a stage name, Reverho—which they saw as a more exotic and attractive spelling of their legal name, Revereau. Their career immediately took off.

The Reverhos went to work in circuses and variety theaters all over Europe and beyond, and became a top-billing act, much sought after by impresarios and agents. In 1933, they befriended the legendary clown Grock during a common engagement—possibly at the Scala or the WinterGarten in Berlin, Germany's (and Europe's) leading varieté(German, from the French: ''variété'') A German variety show whose acts are mostly circus acts, performed in a cabaret atmosphere. Very popular in Germany before WWII, Varieté shows have experienced a renaissance since the 1980s. theatres. Grock was already a major international star-performer at the time, and a shrewd businessman where his contracts were concerned; he gave them professional advice, of which the brothers certainly took good advantage.

The Trio Reverhos

Gustave and André had worked as a duo, until Gustave met in 1936 Madeleine Chapron, (1916-2013), the daughter of a pharmacist. Madeleine and her parents lived in Les Sables-d'Olonne, a seaside resort in the Vendée region of France; The Reverhos, who had settled in Les Sables-d'Olonne, appeared at a charity event organized at that city's Grand Casino. Gustave and Madeleine fell in love. They got married on November 26, 1936.

Their career was flourishing indeed, and the presence of a feminine element in the act was even more attractive to agents and producers. They worked indifferently on stage and in the ring of a few major circuses—although their venues of choice were the varieté(German, from the French: ''variété'') A German variety show whose acts are mostly circus acts, performed in a cabaret atmosphere. Very popular in Germany before WWII, Varieté shows have experienced a renaissance since the 1980s. and music-hall stages. In 1938, they signed a contract to perform in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. On the ship taking them to Brazil, Gustave taught the young pharmacist daughter the basics of juggling. At the end of the crossing, the Duo Reverhos had become the Trio Reverhos.

In the winter of 1938-39, they appeared with Bertram Mills Circus at London’s Olympia in Kensington, where they were still billed as the Duo Reverhos: Madeleine must have been seen as just the usual touch of charm in the form of an attractive female assistant—which she was to a large extent, the skills of the two brothers being quite difficult to match! The great British circus chronicler and historian Antony Hippisley Coxe complained in his book A Seat at the Circus (1951) about the way they performed their act (which he found nonetheless "remarkable"): it is a pity that such fine routine should be worked so much in one direction, à la Music Hall" (which meant in a frontal position).

Then in September 1939 came the Second World War, followed by the German occupation of France in June 1940. French circus and variety performers entered then in a period of sheer survival: travels were restricted, and choices of engagement were few. During the summer of 1940, Paris's theaters and circuses closed their doors. Then, French traveling circuses were then forbidden to tour. In November, Paris's Cirque Medrano and Cirque d'Hiver were put under the management of German circus producer Paula Busch for a three-month trial period. The Reverhos, whose act was well known in Germany, were on Paula Bush's reopening program of the Cirque Medrano.

They continued to work in what was left of the European variety circuit during the war, even appearing in Germany (they were in Frankfurt, probably at the Schumann Theater in Frankfurt, in March 1943), as did other circus performers who had become German audiences' favorites, in a country where circus and variety were extremely popular. Circus artists, who were used to working internationally, were by and large not much interested in politics or national identities; their world was circumscribed to their milieu, which would sometimes create problems after the end of the war—as had indeed been the case for the most prominent of them, notably Grock and Charlie Rivel.

The Post-War Years

After the war, however, there was nothing left of Germany's entertainment scene, where practically all circus buildings and variety theaters had been destroyed by the Allies' relentless bombing of all major cities. In the rest of Europe, however, circuses resumed touring, and circus buildings remained active, as were variety and revue theaters—and the Reverhos' unusual act was still much in demand. Then, in 1947, they signed a contract with John Ringling North, who had just regained control of the family's Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The Reverhos debuted at Madison Square Garden in New York, and then toured under the gigantic canvas tent, where they were featured in the center ring. They didn't renew for the 1948 season, however, as it was customary for most of Ringling's featured performers, who stayed at least two seasons with the show. It is possible that the Reverhos, used as they were to have the full audience's focus in Europe, and a certain level of performing comfort, the "quantity over quality" that seemed to prevail in the giant three-ring circus failed to meet their expectations (although quality was there, but a little overcome by the surroundings).

In 1953, they toured Argentina and Chile with the Circo Las Águilas Humanas. Back in Europe, they performed a little more often in their native country: In June 1954, they were featured in Le fil en étoile at the Théâtre de l'Empire in Paris, a production in which circus and variety stars were dressed by Parisian leading couturiers, and in 1956, they appeared as the opening act at the legendary Olympia Music-Hall in a program starring the jazz percussionist Lionel Hampton and his orchestra. In 1958, they toured U.R.S.S. and China with the Grand Cirque Français, which was part of a cultural exchange between France and these two countries.

That was their last professional appearance; Gustave, André, and Madeleine retired in 1959 in Les Sables-d'Olonne, but they didn't remain idle. They found a vast open dump at the edge of the town, bought it, and transformed it themselves in a cage-free zoological park: Indeed, André and Gustave's old construction(French) A temporary circus building, originally made of wood and canvas, and later, of steel elements supporting a canvas top and wooden wall. Also known as a "semi-construction." skills had come handy! The zoological park opened in June 1963. They managed it successfully until 1975, when they passed it on to a professional zoo director, who carried on their legacy. The parc still exists to this day: the Zoo des Sables, an eco-zoo, is still a major attraction(Russian) A circus act that can occupy up to the entire second half of a circus performance. in Les Sables-d'Olonne, housing about forty threatened animal species.

Gustave passed away on April 16, 1969: He was just sixty years old. André died on April 23, 1996, and Madeleine in 2013, at age ninety-seven, after having been actively involved in many social and charitable activities in Les Sables-d'Olonne. She and Gustave has two daughters, Anita and Christine. The Reverhos have been laid to rest at the Cimetière Ancien in Les Sables-d'Olonne. To this day, The Reverhos have remained one of the most original and spectacular "juggling" acts of the twentieth century.

See Also

• Video: The Reverhos, acrobatic jugglers, in rehearsal at Paris's Cirque Medrano (1940)
• Video: The Reverhos, acrobatic jugglers, in rehearsal in Sarasota, Florida (1947)

Image Gallery

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  The Trio Reverhos (c.1938)