Behind the painted smile, circus clowns ponder an uncertain future

Two tumbling clowns from the Circus Santus awaiting their cue during a weekend performance at Cranford, west London. The circus faces an uncertain future because of falling attendances and what its owner, Ernest Santus, sees as bias against shows that incorporate animals - an allegation he is keen to dismiss by pointing out that only domestic animals are used.

(Photograph omitted)