Meet the mischief-makers bringing circus skills to the city streets

First there was the Beatnik Collective. Now there's the Mischief Mafia.
Mischief Mafia/BeatniksMischief Mafia/Beatniks
Mischief Mafia/Beatniks

Preston has turned into a hotbed for circus-style street entertainers.

A talented group of young performers are in demand all over the country and abroad for their mixture of circus tricks, psychedelia and mayhem.

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The Beatniks have performed at events and festivals far and wide, including right here in Preston.

MIschief Mafia/ BeatniksMIschief Mafia/ Beatniks
MIschief Mafia/ Beatniks

A mixture of fire eating, juggling and acrobatics is the order of the day whenever they perform.

Now a group of 14 calling themselves the Mischief Mafia have evolved out of the Beatniks, with the aim of trying more “dangerous” stunts.

The gang of multi-talented performing artists, originally banded together in Preston, now run a successful racket of fire-performers, dancers, acrobats and musicians.

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Their myriad skills and toys bring a hint of danger to their performances. Flaming hula girls entice crowds while fire-staff spinners confuse with impossible combinations.

Mischief Mafia/BeatniksMischief Mafia/Beatniks
Mischief Mafia/Beatniks

Performer Leah Sophia said: “There is an intangible ‘something’ when we perform, an unspoken conversation between each-other and the crowd. It’s very rare to find performers that really get that. It’s a kind of magic.”

The Mafia’s “Don”, Ryan Seven said the most impressive trick in the group’s armoury was “Back-flipping through fireballs”.

In the last year Mischief Mafia members have shown off their skills at festivals all over the country, from the very local NW Roots and Beat Herder to the uber-festivals like Boomtown and Shambala.

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They’ve taken their brand of madness to Italy, Spain, Portugal and Croatia.

MIschief Mafia/ BeatniksMIschief Mafia/ Beatniks
MIschief Mafia/ Beatniks

They’ve been on stage with big names such as Basement Jaxx, Goldie, Dub FX and Pendulum.

Where’s next for these fun loving criminals?

They’ll be bringing some heat to the Alps and early in 2017 plan to run their own events firm.

Mischief Mafia can be found on Facebook, Youtube and at [email protected].

The Beatnik Collective are on facebook and twitter @beatnikbeatniks.

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