Take a workforce of 400, 137 new costumes, one-year-old twins and a circus adaption of Tolstoy’s Russian epic War and Peace and you get a broad idea of what Nell Gifford is up against this year to get the show on the road. But with everything going according to plan, Giffords Circus is back and coming to Oxfordshire with its most ambitious project to date, so catch it while you can. Katherine MacAlister talks to Nell Gifford to find out why ‘the show must go on’.

Nell Gifford ran away and joined the circus, literally, aged 18.

She toured America, learning her trade along the way, came home to graduate from Oxford University, and then met Toti, the man of her dreams, with whom she began building Giffords Circus.

And anyone who’s been to Giffords will know there is nothing like it.

It’s akin to entering a fairytale, where a surreal world of mystical entertainers enthrall you in their tales like a spider spinning a web until you are totally mesmerised.

Whether it’s the romance of the performance, the beautifully authentic historical costumes, the ridiculously overblown themes or the general old-fashioned nature of the troupe, either way Giffords Circus is quite unforgettable.

“It’s a lot of work,” acknowledges Nell, “but then it’s really good fun and we all integrate and work together as a family.”

Even so converting one of the longest and most epic Russian novels is a massive undertaking.

“Mammoth,” Nell agrees smiling. “But it’s my favourite book, and it seems to have adapted quite well.”

So why now? “The idea for a show has been swirling about in the back of my mind for years,” she says, “but it has been a mammoth project because it’s the first time we’ve adapted a novel. So it’s exciting to be finally doing it and somehow it’s working,” she smiles. “And our adaption is very visual because we’ve spent a lot of time in Russia and I find their culture fascinating.”

So how has Nell, 37, fitted the global acts she has scoured into the story?

“That’s where Irina Brown, the director, is so clever. Drunken French officers juggle knives and bottles, the acrobats are soldiers warming up before a battle and so on.”

As for the Giffords themselves, the four of them perform as Russian peasants in this year’s epic circus act. But there’s also jugglers, a Russian troupe, Cossacks on horses and an aerial Hungarian girl, all wearing fabulous uniforms. “It’s very swashbuckling,” Nell adds.

“But what is amazing about the creative process is that War and Peace has taken on a life of its own and that’s the fascinating thing.

“Because Giffords is a circus and we are there to entertain, so as far as the story goes the audience can take it or leave it. But if people leave thinking,’I’m going to go home and read War and Peace now’, that would be good,” she smiles.

The Giffords live on a farm in the Cotswolds in the winter, planning the circus two years in advance and touring the world for new, exciting and previously undiscovered acts.

But come spring they start mobilising themselves ready for the new season’s show, which comes to Oxfordshire next month.

As for the twins Fred and Cecil, Nell just says: “It’s a wonderful way to grow up really and we were back on the road three months after they were born.

“And yes, sometimes it does get a bit overwhelming,” Nell admits, “but if you are well organised you can cope.”

And as she prepares to head back to the circus, she turns and adds with a grin: “But then that’s showbusiness and I did always want to have my own show.”

* War and Peace at Giffords Circus comes to Tackley on June 23-27 and Stadhampton on June 30-July 4. Call theBox office on 0845 4597469 or see giffordscircus.com