Miss Polly Hoops
was informed that she’s facing a £5,000 fine if she continues her hula hoop street performance act in Trafalgar Square in London, England, UK. She says Westminster Council is using her as a test case to clear the West End before the Olympics begin. Under normal circumstances Polly may have been simply forced out of her current livelihood, but that was before comedy star Eddie Izzard got in on the act, metaphorically speaker. Izzard, who was recently
cast to star in a revamp of The Munsters, is supporting Polly in her appeal against her “noise abatement notice”, as Izzard used to be a street performer himself back in the day. Once upon a time Eddie could be found riding a unicycle at Covent Garden before making his way into such films as “Ocean’s Twelve”, “Ocean’s Thirteen”, “Mystery Men”, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”, the HBO Television series “The Riches” and more. Izzard accompanied Polly, a theatre studies graduate, to Westminster magistrates’ court.
Miss Polly Hoops, 22, stated that, “Four men came up to me and gave me this noise abatement notice. They were very aggressive. I had been performing at the top of the Trafalgar Square. At the time I was doing it with three hoops, but now I use four or five. I have a five-minute, family-friendly hula-hoop routine. I just want to entertain the public. I love to see girls smile and want them to try hooping themselves.” Her notice was issued last September. She said the council claimed a complaint was filed about the the music she plays through a small amplifier while she hoop dances.
Eddie Izzard
When
The Evening Standard asked if she thought the council wanted to ban street performers, she said, “I think they do. They’ve generally been very aggressive, not very pleasant at all. I think they’re using me as a test case to stop street performers.” How does she feel about the case? Polly explained, “I am terrified to lose as it will be such an injustice. But if I win this will mean so much to me and all the performers fighting for Trafalgar. Wish me luck and hopefully our Battle of Trafalgar will end.” MacFarlane claimed the notice has cost her more than £2,000 in lost tips.
Westminster Council’s member for public health Tony Devenish said: “Buskers have an important place in the heart of London and are part of what makes the capital such a vibrant place. However they have to follow the same rules as everyone else and not cause an obstruction to the highway or excessive noise.” The case was then adjourned until April 13.
Comments
comments
From what I garnered from FB posts, in Indianapolis during Super Bowl week this year, street performers were welcomed–(perhaps hired?) to entertain patrons at Super Bowl Village. I saw posts from a variety of object manipulators and all seemed as though it was a fun and successful venture for them and for the event. Indianapolis capitalized on the entertainment value of street performers. Perhaps Trafalgar Square and the Olympic committee could take a look at that success.
Street performers are not allowed in Atlanta. There’s a few vigilantes out there, mostly musicians. It’s a shame because we have such beautiful parks and squares with lots of people who would love to see us entertain them. From what I understand, the restrictions come from anti-panhandling laws that hit the books when we were preparing for the 1996 Olympics. I’m working on getting a festival vending/performing license but it’s a little tricky because I don’t qualify exactly for any one category.
Thank you very much for putting my article up there. It is a shame that the council are not supportive of the street performers there, as they are all part of equity, they have public liability insurance and have well over ten years of performance experience.
Happy Hooping, Polly x
Are you supposed to apply for a license? Or is this just a clampdown on all street performers in Trafalgar Square? What about other areas of London like Covent Garden etc.
It sounds very short sighted to me.
I thought the street performers had more respect and flexibility in Europe. I recently came back from there and i attended many performances. I am disappointed in the UK. I thought they allowed more freedom of expression than America. I have to say in Delaware, we just hoop where we please.
I hardly think that music coming from a PA system counts as “excessive noise”… that’s really pushing it a little far. How do they cope with street performers speaking through microphones, using much louder voices? Where I live there is a rule about street performers with acts that require sound and that’s that they can only occupy one space for up to an hour then they have to move on, and it doesn’t require a license to busk in certain spaces. You’d think a place as highly populated as Trafalgar Square would welcome the entertainment? Good luck!