Politics in contemporary circus

Chapter 2, Politics in Contemporary Circus, explores the ways in which the ‘normate’ is being contested in politically-driven work within the field. Disability Studies scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson defines the normate as the deeply hidden, internalised, socially-constructed figure which accrues cultural capital, and, as a result, is able to step easily into positions of authority. Garland-Thomson posits that the form of the normate is made visible through ‘the array of deviant others whose marked bodies shore up the normate’s boundaries’ (Garland-Thomson, 1997, 8). When P. T. Barnum divided his circus into two parts, the big top and the side-show annexe, he situated the ‘human menagerie’ (a term popularised by Barnum) alongside the animal menagerie in the sideshow. In the sideshow annexe were the freaks or ‘human curiosities,’ the ethnographic displays of First Nations people, and the African American performers, all of whom were effectively excluded from the big top. This architectonic division of space and the subsequent division of the performers created by it were intrinsic to the development of the normate, which now, it can be argued, remains deeply internalised in Contemporary Circus. Performers of colour, First Nations performers, performers with adaptive bodies, and queer performers mark out the boundaries of this pervasive, still active normate, and they are joined by female performers who are now also often increasingly marginalised in much Contemporary Circus performance.
In Part 2, the Voices section, conversations are included with eight creators who are known for their engagement with political issues: Mike Finch (Circus Oz), Jennifer Miller (Circus Amok), Tilde Björfors (Cirkus Cirkör), Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers (Hot Brown Honey), Phia Ménard (Compagnie Non Nova), Jo Lancaster and Simon Yates (Acrobat), and Fez Faanana (Briefs).