The characters from the screen come to life in Circus Summarum

In Circus Summarum, Motor Mille, Mr. Beard, Uncle Shrimp and the rest of the team step off the screen and into the ring. This year's show offers big circus acts, live music, politically incorrect adult humor and impressive young dancers. In the middle of it all stands Sælma, who just wants to be there, even though she doesn't quite know what she's good at.

The magic begins in the red tent

Something happens when children meet characters they only know from television. Inside the big red tent at Tangkrogen, they are suddenly sitting just a few meters from Motor Mille, Mr. Beard, Uncle Shrimp and the circus director.

For Motor Mille, the experience begins when the children enter the tent.

"Something happens when you experience things in reality and not through a screen. The magic starts as soon as you enter the tent," she says when we catch her up for a chat about this year's performance.

She herself remembers the feeling of going to the circus as a child. The tent is neither an ordinary theater hall nor an outdoor stage. It is a space that can be packed up and moved, but which for a while creates its own world.

Here the children also discover how big the figures really are. They see them moving around the arena and experience that a gesture from the stage may actually be directed at them.

“That's what we try as best we can. To give every child in the tent an experience that we actually see them.”

Sælma wants to be a circus performer

This year's story begins when Sælma arrives at the circus with a great desire to become a circus performer.

The other cast members take turns trying to teach her their acts. She gets circus lessons, but almost every time something ends up going wrong. Sælma wants to do it right, but she doesn't really fit into the acts and framework that already exists.

The circus director keeps trying, but eventually it becomes too much for Sælmma, who chooses to disappear.

Can the circus just continue without her?

The circus director tries to replace Sælm with a robot. It might be able to perform the tasks without making mistakes and without making things more difficult. But it quickly becomes clear that a robot cannot replace the human being, who the others miss first when she is gone.

On the surface, the story is built around the message that it's most fun when everyone is involved. However, the play also dares to ask the slightly more difficult question: Is it always fun and easy when everyone has to be involved?

"It's not always easy when everyone is involved. It can be incredibly difficult and super difficult, but that doesn't mean everyone shouldn't be involved," says Motor Mille.

If someone is a little different or has difficulty fitting into a game, it can be easier for the others to keep them out. Maybe the game needs to be changed a bit instead, to make room for the person who doesn't fit in from the start.

It's a big topic, but it's told in a way that children can join in. Sælma's mistakes turn into funny and chaotic circus acts, while the more serious conversation lies just below the surface.

The children respond from the stands

The contact between the ring and the audience can be felt throughout the performance. The children are certainly not silent spectators, nor are they expected to be.

There is loud shouting from the stands when questions are asked by the team. Before the performance, the children can also write their own questions down on a piece of paper, and some of them are drawn along the way and answered in the ring.

Mr. Beard is also leading a quiz where all the children in the tent compete against the adults. It is clear that the children intend to win the quiz.

For Motor Mille, the children's immediate reactions are one of the most important differences between performing live and participating in a production for the screen.

"Children are the wildest audience. They are so honest. I think it's magical to be able to meet them, hear them and know if they like what you're doing. You can only do that when you do something live."

The young dancers fill the arena

The well-known figures are of course the ones many have come to experience, but around them stands a team of young dancers who deserve attention.

Around 100 children applied to be in the show, and only a small number were invited to audition, where they had to learn a choreography and then perform in front of the show's director and choreographers.

They are part of a large part of the performance and make the stage change shape from number to number. Sometimes they stand out clearly in the choreography, while at other times they disappear into costumes and become living props around the main characters.

They lift, pull, dance and move the set design, while being part of the story themselves. It takes precision to make the big joint numbers work, and the young dancers deliver an impressive performance throughout the show.

Their energy and movements tie the many scenes together and help keep the pace up.

Uncle Shrimp also has something for adults

Circus Summarum is created for children, but Uncle Reje makes sure that adults are not forgotten either.

Together with Erna, he delivers his well-known politically incorrect humor and several jokes that hit the adults in a completely different way than the children. The youngest can laugh at what happens in the ring, while the adults catch the innuendos that Uncle Shrimp throws around.

However, it's not just adult jokes that make parents and grandparents laugh. Motor Mille finds that many adults are at least as engrossed in seeing children's reactions.

"Sometimes I find that adults almost become more absorbed in the children's way of seeing things than their own. In the circus, I often find that it is the adults who laugh when the children laugh."

Some of the best things therefore also happen in the seats, where the adults watch the children almost as much as they watch what is happening in the ring.

Live music and circus under the tent

The DR Big Band sits visibly above the entrance to the arena and helps to give the performance extra character. The music follows the movements, humor and dramatic moments as they occur.

The live orchestra emphasizes the difference between Circus Summarum and the programs children know from the screen. The music fills the tent and drives the performance forward as the scenes change and new characters enter the ring.

There will also be room for the classic circus thrill in your stomach. Motor Mille leaves the safe ground under his feet in his aerial act, and along the way the show offers several daring stunts, where both children and adults look up at the tent canvas.

The big numbers are mixed with comedy, dance and quieter scenes, where the story of Sælma is allowed to take center stage.

It's not always easy when everyone has to be involved.

Towards the end, the circus director sums up the story with the words:

“When we laugh at the clown, we are actually laughing at ourselves.”

Sælma's many mistakes were easy to laugh at while they were happening. But after her disappearance, they take on a completely different meaning. She wasn't the easiest person to get into the circus, and she couldn't just do the same thing as everyone else. Still, something was missing when she was gone.

The message that it's most fun when everyone is involved becomes more than just a nice phrase. The performance also shows that it can take some effort from those who are already part of the community.

For Motor Mille, it is personal to help pass on that experience. She has been in the circus for 14 years, but the meeting with the children has not lost its meaning.

"The feeling the kids give me hasn't changed. It still keeps kicking my ass. The feeling I get in my stomach when I walk in front of the kids hasn't changed in these 14 years."

When the show is over, it's not necessarily all the circus acts that the children will remember many years later. For Motor Mille, the most important thing is that the family has enjoyed that day together.

"I hope they remember the experience they had together as a family or with grandma, grandpa or siblings. I feel like I have created a success if you as a family can remember a day like that you have had in Aarhus."

Practical information Circus Summarum 2026 in Aarhus

• Location: Tangkrogen, Marselisborg Havnevej 1, 8000 Aarhus
• Period: July 22 to August 6, 2026
• Performances: selected days at 11:00 AM and 3:30 PM
• Price: from 125 to 550 DKK plus fee
• Duration: approximately 2 hours including a 20-minute break
• Recommended age: from 3 to 8 years
• Please note: The performance contains bright lights and loud sound.
• Circus Square: opens 2 hours before the performance
• Organizer: Muscular Dystrophy Foundation and DR Big Band