In Conversation with Show Pony

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Lovely to meet you all! After performing at the fringe in 2019 and winning two awards for your previous show Raven, what is it like to return with your new production Show Pony? Are you more or less nervous than the first time? 

We are just as excited to be going to the Fringe as the first time. It is comforting to know a bit more about what to expect, which makes us less nervous and full of anticipation. We are so excited to share our new work with the Fringe audience!

What can audiences expect from the show? What would you most like them to take away from it?  

In Show Pony we explore what it means to grow older in a very physically demanding industry. We want to start a conversation, and think it is time to question prejudices towards age and femininity – on stage and off. In our experience many audience members felt the need to get in touch with us after the performance and seek an exchange in order to share their own feelings and confirm the relevance of this topic which clearly is a universal issue and not limited to the circus world.

Combining still hungry’s skills with Bryony Kimmings’ performance art abilities must have been such an interesting journey. Can you tell us a bit about this process?

Our creative work with Bryony starts with a question or a subject that seems to affect us at the moment. We have conversations, interviews, collect ideas and do research by watching movies, listening to podcasts, and reading books concerning this topic. The next step is to find a physical approach through circus. We then reevaluate our ideas and check if we are heading in the right direction, digging deeper into the topic. We look at what the personal approach is for each of us with the chosen subject and where the universal essence is. Bryony is amazing at supporting us in using circus skills in a way that serves the storyline, always gently pushing us to leave our comfort zone. 

Why do you think the performing arts are sometimes so ageist, especially against women? What would you hope for the landscape to look like in the future?

The performing arts industry is characterised by a lack of diversity, with a preference for younger and more aesthetically pleasing performers over those with more experience. This is particularly evident in commercial work, where there is a lack of roles available to older artists, with women in particular facing significant barriers to accessing a range of roles. While it is crucial to support young emerging artists, older artists are often overlooked.

We really hope it will become much more diverse, with human beings of all types, races and ages sharing their stories and ideas on stage… the possibilities are endless!        

And finally – SHOW PONY performs from the perspective of three performers. What do you each bring to the show as your own unique creatives? 

The three of us are connected through our friendship and through circus. But we are also at very different stages in our lives and come from various backgrounds which makes each of our storylines quite unique. At the same time we all face similar obstacles regarding a slowly ending career on stage and looking for instructions and solutions to what comes next.