Show Pony
by still hungry
Show Pony follows still hungry’s and Bryony Kimmings’ award-winning hit “Raven” (2019), which toured throughout Germany and internationally.
About the show
Show Pony is the new autobiographical piece by Berlin-based circus company still hungry, in collaboration with British performance maker Bryony Kimmings.
A candid look at a life on stage and the painful moment when the stage no longer wants you, Show Pony brings past, present and an imagined future together as three women try to decide how they can go on, or if they should go on at all.
Packed full of love, laughter and lunacy, Show Pony by still hungry is a joyful scream into the face of the patriarchy that challenges us to question our prejudices towards age and femininity, on stage and off.
Show Pony blends text based storytelling with circus disciplines including straps, vertical rope, contortion and object manipulation. What initially appears to be a look behind the scenes of the circus industry transforms into open-heart surgery, a brutally honest confrontation with childhood conditioning, growing older and the importance of friendship.
In the press:
Arte Journal
A mixture of relentlessly candid biographical stories and circus tricks… The show is an almost therapeutic examination of the problems that older women have to contend with in the entertainment industry
Nachtkritik
The three performers daringly embarked on a biographical way of working that is familiar from post-dramatic performance… With Show Pony, the Chamäleon’s goal of distancing the circus from the environment of conventional, commercial entertainment succeeds.
The Guardian
But Show Pony is not just for circophiles. What is striking is how many of the prejudices and expectations – make everything look effortless, don’t talk about period pains or menopause –apply offstage, too… a mixture of often mordant humour, poignancy and pride
The Scotsman
The heart of this story is the wit and wisdom with which they take us inside circus life, for women in particular, peeling back the sequins to reveal the human beings beneath.
Berliner Morgenpost
Raven, a play about having children and being a mother, was created in 2019 – just as self-critical and socially critical as Show Pony, which is now even more unabashedly autobiographical. A must-see!
Der Tagesspiegel
In the piece, Lena Ries, Anke van Engelshoven and Romy Seibt reflect on growing older as an artist – sometimes with brutal honesty, sometimes with refreshing self-irony. The fabulous trio steps out of the illusion and takes a critical look at the entertainment industry, in which female artists are discarded at the age of 40 at the latest.
Creative Team:
Created by: still hungry & Bryony Kimmings
Performers: Lena Ries, Anke van Engelshoven, Romy Seibt
Sound Design and Original Music: Tom Parkinson
Choreography: Sarah Blanc
Produced by: Chamäleon Berlin & still hungry
Supported by: Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR
Genre: Contemporary Circus & Physical Theatre
Age recommendation: 12+
Duration: 60 minutes
Languages: German or English
People on tour: 4
Basic tech needs: Stage min 8x10x6m height, 1-2 hanging points
About the company:
still hungry is a contemporary circus collective from Berlin. The three artists and mothers Romy, Anke, and Lena reunited after long years of friendship to create a piece of innovative circus. Powerful images and a good sense of humour make their work truly touching and highly amusing. Their work is fresh, feminist, strong, and unafraid to tackle even intensely personal subjects that don’t lend themselves easily to circus, a genre that is still primarily associated with entertainment.
For their creation show pony, still hungry again collaborated with Bryony Kimmings as creative advisor, a director and performance artist famous for her emotionally intelligent, provocative and refreshing style.
Tour Dates:
Next:
16. + 17. May 2025: Norfolk & Norwich Festival, UK
Past Performances:
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Berlin Circus Festival, PLAY – A guest performance series at Chamäleon Berlin, Jacksons Lane Arts Centre London
Contact:
For booking and material requests please contact:
Alexandra Henn
Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director
touring@chamaeleonberlin.com
