Speaking of circus. Speaking of the world with circus

Editorial 

What is a magazine if not dialogue? What is dialogue if not language? To many, articulation (in spoken or written language) comes as natural as breathing. To others, it’s a political gesture or privilege. In this issue of the magazine, we ponder the idea of articulation and meaning making through language, within the context of a predominantly non-verbal, non-textual artform – contemporary circus.

Philosopher Karen Barad famously wrote that “language has been granted too much power.” And yet, we speak. We might be in the process of designing more wholesome modes of care, empathy, understanding and belonging, ones that can be expressed outside of language. We might be looking at a future free from our anthropocentric grasp, a future where signs, codes, and meanings can exist in more-than-linguistic configurations. Today, however, the future exists (perhaps primarily?) in our language.

For this issue, we invited contributors whose work within contemporary circus touches on aspects of language or meaning making, at the crossroads with embodied forms of expression. Artist Kathrin Wagner shares her thoughts on blending juggling and slam poetry, following the premiere in Denmark of her solo performance ‘I Was Told.’ If Kathrin uses words to communicate to her audience, Jakob Jacobsson and Lisa Chudalla of company Revue Regret use language to give their audience a way to express a universally human emotion – regret. Lithuanian artist Marija Baranauskaitė tells of her project creating and performing for an audience of sofas, teasing out post-anthropocentric capacities of the artform.

While Marija’s work makes us wonder what sofas really want, Kim-Yen Nguyen’s photography essay makes us wonder what pictures might want (WJT Mitchell). In her essay Kim-Yen applies her signature minimalistic, noise-free aesthetic in seeing (with) circus. Her lens lends her a unique perspective into what type of presence the human body in circus might express and facilitates a thought-provoking exercise in looking.

A spotlight on Danish funding for contemporary circus led us to ask what the language of (successful) funding sounds like. We discuss it in an interview with Trine Wisbech, currently a member of the committee for project grants for performing arts at The Danish Arts Foundation. We dedicate extensive space for conversation on circus dramaturgy and the leaps from dramatic, text-based stage work to more physical expression, in dialogue with dramaturge Betina Rex, and artists Lars Lindgaard Gregersen (GLiMT Amager), Luna Risum Stockmar, and Anna Emilie Lauge Pedersen (Vice Versa).

This third issue arrives in the world during a potential turning point for Danish cultural journalism, a period in which, it could be argued, a constant struggle for legitimacy is carried out on various fronts. We strongly believe the voices of critics and culture writers need to be heard, so in this issue we present the very first ISCENE Special – a dossier in which Anne Liisberg from ISCENE investigates the role and status of circus criticism in Denmark and beyond, as well as possibilities for the future of circus education in Denmark.

We hope the readings will enlighten and inspire you – to act, move, rebel, explore, speak. Or, as contributor Nika Parkhomovskaia proposes, take time to be silent if silence is due.

Enjoy!

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Cover photo by Kim-Yen Nguyen