The Why Circus Podcast

How To Make The Circus More Gay (and why we haven't already)

The audio of a special video documentary talking about gay representation in the circus. Specifically duo acts where the theme of romance is very prevalent in opposite-sex pairs, but is virtually non-existent when it comes to same-sex pairs. It’s a topic that I’ve been reflecting on for some time, and this is created from my own thoughts and a series of interviews I did with friends from different sectors of the industry. Included are artists from Cirque du Soleil, Casus, Chivaree Circus/Independent, and a teacher from the National Centre for Circus Arts in London. We talk about the creative process behind building romance into an act, and the challenges one faces when trying to represent gay romance on stage in a way that is both palatable and not too subtle to be read. Through four interviews over 20 minutes we discuss the trappings of certain cliches and how to work against them to create new interesting and diverse representations of human relationships on stage. Interviewees: Jesse Scott, Alfa Marks, Rosie Panda and Louis-David Simoneau Written by Eric McGill Music by Pascal Perron

Louis-David Simoneau - Cirque du Soleil - The trappings of people's expectations

Duo Wazo (Louis David and Rosalie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T05ZKj5FXdY The Arrow (Matthew Richardson and Francis Perrault): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtnJUS30olE Soleil's Zumanity - Two Men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uGlbhRq0JI Zumanity's (very different) Two Men: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-LGOvV6ep8 Towel Act - Les Beaux Frères: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSXZtYFdvsI Duo Scarlette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjwtaVwWS70

Jesse Scott - Casus - How gay men can('t) show soft love

Casus - You and I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5R5GtVHmU Fauna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj86GeHtOhs Briefs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfybjDag22k Hot Brown Honey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4BpjrARQpA