safe height to perform

But is this because people get away with it, or because they're actually allowed? I can count a zillion things that are done in theatre 'because' (of aesthetics, of 'other people do it', etc etc), but that doesn't mean that it's legal OR safe. I would suspect that 90% of the time, things are done simply because it's theatre and we kind of subconsciously expect to have allowances (just as we can get away with discrimination based on looks) and that no one - important - will care. Just because it can/has been done and just because it's aesthetically 'better', doesn't necessarily mean we can and should be getting away with it. (I say this in total ignorance of what the actual regulations say. Just trying to point out that a distinction should be made between what we do, and what we're actually allowed to do) EDIT: Another couple of thoughts just popped into my head. Are there different issues between circus performers and normal stage performers, other than higher insurance premiums? And is there a specific regulation or something that says: if person is performing at X height, then platform must be Y wide by Z deep?