For the iconic showwomen who paved the way for those of today, who suffered injustice across the ages, this spectacular changed the script and made Her-Story!
Directed by Marisa Carnesky, this epic production was a contemporary reimagining of the carnival like herstory of the original Bartholomew Fair, a large-scale promenade theatrical show starring a mighty cast of 33 immensely skilled, powerful women and non-binary performance artists, performing up to 7 one hour long shows, creating matriarchal utopias and paying homage to forgotten showwomxn through the ages.
Exploring the heritage of women entertainers in British circus and variety, the performance told the untold herstory of extraordinary working-class entertainment from feminist and activist perspectives, exploring the legacy of marginalised women entertainers and the lived experiences of exceptional diverse womxn performers today.
Elf Lyons - Lulu Adams, Fancy Chance - Hair Hanging, Suri Sumatra - Rangda, Laura London - Talma
“Periodically inhabited by the legendary spirits of Vesta Tilley and Annie Hindle, me and Moloko Jones merged with our drag ancestors and took up space with these kickass womxn”. Molly Beth Moroso
Smithfields is steeped in dark history, it was an ancient site of bloody public executions where women were bought and sold alongside animals, hung and burned. It functions today as a meat market, which the production took over to recreate this centuries old sideshow extravaganza that was outlawed in the Victorian period for its debauchery.
Peformers evoked the ghosts of the greatest showwomen of the past with a ‘Showwomxn Business Séance’, channelling ancestors and stating their skills and requirements.
Sideshows galore! Featuring aerialists, illusionists, wrestlers, hair hanging, glass walkers, whip cracking, bed of nails, drag kings, contemporary clowns, reimagined fairground games and fortune telling making for a visionary and magical experience.
The full cast included specialist circus sideshow stunt performers Livia Alour, Lucifire, Missy Mcabre, Lalla Morte and Lolo Brow, contemporary clowns Elf Lyons, Meg Hodgson and Ella The Great, burlesque cabaret star Mysti Vine, Bollywood cabaret performer Kaajel, performance artists Marisa Carnesky, Oozing Gloop, Jay Yule, Tallulah Haddon, Molly Beth Morossa, Haitch Plewis and Rhyannon Styles, circus artists contortionist Hannah Finn, hoola hoop performers Symone and Chi Chi Revolver, aerialists Fancy Chance, Katherine Arnold and Jackie Le, burlesque and magic artists Vicki Butterfly, Laura London and Suri Sumatra, wrestling star Claire Heafford, European Jazz musicians Cat and Wolf and nine amazing emerging performers from Marisa’s own BA course.
The show asked why and how women perform dangerous and taboo acts and explored the legacy of forgotten and marginalised British entertainers.
Kaaajel conjured up the harrowing story of the Hindu mythological goddess Draupadi - mixing worlds of British history, Hindu mythology, Bollywood & Cabaret.
Wrestling was performed in the context of its vaudevillian traveling circus sideshow history by Madame Guillotine (Claire Heafford), Alex Windsor & Clementine.
Oozing Gloop read people’s Tarot.
Fancy Chance closed the show (3 times!) with their legendary hair hanging from the grandiose architecture of the market in glorious style.
The show also featured specially commissioned fairground artworks by Brighton pier muralist Dave Pop costumes by London based cabaret costumiers The House of Flying Stitches and music by David Knight (Unicazurn, Lydia Lunch).
