Korzo Zaal
Cirque Mania #19: Itch
| Maker | Christopher McAuley |
| Duration | 50 min |
| Part of | Cirque Mania |
""A tender, autobiographical exploration of life with a chronic skin condition""
— Mirjam Zwanenburg, programmer Cirque Mania
Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis) presents itself in various ways, from large scaly patches to red pustules and spots. Each person has a cocktail of triggers, unknown sparks that send the body into an insatiable, blood-hungry, scratch-a-thon. But through constant vigilance and the assistance of strong steroid creams, a person can live a somewhat ‘normal’ life.
Itch is an autobiographical piece centering around Christopher McAuley’s experience of living with a chronic skin condition and existing as a queer male in Northern Ireland. Celebrating our individuality and the power of community, but also highlighting the struggle and difficulty of operating within a world that celebrates aesthetic perfection.
Blending aerial, acrobatics, light projections, and spoken word, Itch picks apart all the layers of identity. By shedding light on eczema and the world of skin issues, the show delves into the human condition of being visibly different. The ability to accept and move on, but also the moments where carrying that weight can become too much.
Please note: this performance contains nudity.
Christopher McAuley is an Irish/Netherlands-based circus artist. Since graduating in June 2020 from Codarts University Rotterdam with a Bachelor in Circus Arts, Christopher has spent the past few years refining his approach to performance. His contemporary work addresses human emotion, vulnerability and identity, seeking authenticity throughout. His graduation act OMI±POLONE (one of the few selected as laureate of the BNG Circusprijs 2020) revolved around his identity as a queer male and his acceptance of his natural femininity. This has sparked his research into who and what he is on stage, and how this can be shown. For the past three years, Christopher has been touring Europe performing EXIT with Circumstances under the direction of Piet Van Dycke over 230 times across 15 countries.
Itch is being directed by one of the UK’s most successful contemporary circus makers, Laura Murphy, whose shows are touring internationally to great acclaim. Laura Murphy is a genre-defying, award-winning, performance maker from Bristol, who makes text driven and dynamic physical work about things that they think need to be talked about. Proudly queer and neurodivergent, Murphy’s work traverses the personal and the political, connecting the everyday and autobiographical testimony to wider global and social issues.
Director: Laura Murphy
Producers: Flora Herberich, Jenna Hall & Anna Treanor as part of Circusful
Performers: Christopher McAuley
Lighting designer: Joshie Harriette
Sound: Marty Byrne
Technician: TBD
Rigger, Stage manager and Counterweight: Emmen Jude Donnelly
Partners: Circusful, Outburst Queer Art Festival, Motion Chapel, Jacksons Lane, Circus Factory, Irish Aerial Creation Centre, Corpo Rotterdam, Korzo Theatre. Research and Creation funded by Arts Council Ireland.
Cirque Mania #19
Circus is growing, circus is blossoming! Cirque Mania presents all the emerging developments in circus theatre (New Circus). A festival that showcases all the depths and surprising elements of the genre. Because circus is by and for everyone who doesn't want to put themselves in a box. Unless that's your act of course. This edition puts the human body centre stage from Tuesday 20th March, 25 up to Sunday 23th March, 25.
""A tender, autobiographical exploration of life with a chronic skin condition""
— Mirjam Zwanenburg, programmer Cirque Mania
Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis) presents itself in various ways, from large scaly patches to red pustules and spots. Each person has a cocktail of triggers, unknown sparks that send the body into an insatiable, blood-hungry, scratch-a-thon. But through constant vigilance and the assistance of strong steroid creams, a person can live a somewhat ‘normal’ life.
Itch is an autobiographical piece centering around Christopher McAuley’s experience of living with a chronic skin condition and existing as a queer male in Northern Ireland. Celebrating our individuality and the power of community, but also highlighting the struggle and difficulty of operating within a world that celebrates aesthetic perfection.
Blending aerial, acrobatics, light projections, and spoken word, Itch picks apart all the layers of identity. By shedding light on eczema and the world of skin issues, the show delves into the human condition of being visibly different. The ability to accept and move on, but also the moments where carrying that weight can become too much.
Please note: this performance contains nudity.
Christopher McAuley is an Irish/Netherlands-based circus artist. Since graduating in June 2020 from Codarts University Rotterdam with a Bachelor in Circus Arts, Christopher has spent the past few years refining his approach to performance. His contemporary work addresses human emotion, vulnerability and identity, seeking authenticity throughout. His graduation act OMI±POLONE (one of the few selected as laureate of the BNG Circusprijs 2020) revolved around his identity as a queer male and his acceptance of his natural femininity. This has sparked his research into who and what he is on stage, and how this can be shown. For the past three years, Christopher has been touring Europe performing EXIT with Circumstances under the direction of Piet Van Dycke over 230 times across 15 countries.
Itch is being directed by one of the UK’s most successful contemporary circus makers, Laura Murphy, whose shows are touring internationally to great acclaim. Laura Murphy is a genre-defying, award-winning, performance maker from Bristol, who makes text driven and dynamic physical work about things that they think need to be talked about. Proudly queer and neurodivergent, Murphy’s work traverses the personal and the political, connecting the everyday and autobiographical testimony to wider global and social issues.
Director : Laura Murphy
Producers: Flora Herberich, Jenna Hall & Anna Treanor as part of Circusful
Performers: Christopher McAuley
Lighting designer: Joshie Harriette
Sound: Marty Byrne
Technician: TBD
Rigger, Stage manager and Counterweight: Emmen Jude Donnelly
Partners: Circusful, Outburst Queer Art Festival, Motion Chapel, Jacksons Lane, Circus Factory, Irish Aerial Creation Centre, Corpo Rotterdam, Korzo Theatre. Research and Creation funded by Arts Council Ireland.
Cirque Mania #19
Circus is growing, circus is blossoming! Cirque Mania presents all the emerging developments in circus theatre (New Circus). A festival that showcases all the depths and surprising elements of the genre. Because circus is by and for everyone who doesn't want to put themselves in a box. Unless that's your act of course. This edition puts the human body centre stage from Tuesday 20th March, 25 up to Sunday 23th March, 25.
Korzo Zaal