Lancaster Arts TEST Residency: On Contemporary Circus 2024

Lancaster Arts is delighted to announce that our second TEST residency: On Circus has been awarded to circus, theatre and cabaret artist Porcelain Delaney.  This residency is specifically directed at artists or collectives who include contemporary circus in their practice, with the wider aim of supporting the development of the sector in the North.   

The residency will enable Porcelain to test new ideas, supported by the team at Lancaster Arts.  She will receive technical and producer support and the opportunity to engage with academics at the University if required.    

From the 16 – 20 September, Porcelain will be working with us to explore how she might, as a disabled artist, explore interdependence vs. independence through the lens of contemporary circus.  On 20 September, 3-4pm, Porcelain will be presenting some of the outcomes of her residency. If you’d like to attend, please contact alice@lancasterarts.org   

What is Porcelain testing?   

Porcelain says:  

“I want to not only have to freedom of movement options I had prior to becoming a mobility aid user but to have more. This residency will give me a chance to expand my movement repertoire and increase my skills.” 

Porcelain’s research aims to explore the use of traditional mobility aids in new ways or develop bespoke aids/circus equipment to explore the full capability of her disabled body.  Her desire to “fly when I can’t walk” connects to the current Lancaster Arts theme of Flight.  

Porcelain says: “[in the past] explorations have been limited because I get little time to explore the possibilities before I must start setting and rehearsing for the end product. Having a residency without a show at the end will be valuable for me and my development”. 

About Porcelain:  

Porcelain is a disabled multi-disciplinary artist and theatre maker passionate about sharing bolder representations of disability. After working as a professional performer, she grew frustrated at the lack of complex disabled characters and stories and pivoted her practice towards these lesser told narratives. As an artist, Porcelain works across a wide range of genres including theatre, literature, circus, cabaret and dance.  Her cabaret acts have headlined internationally including at: Cirque Le Soir Dubai, Reykjavik Kabarett, Wunder Kabarett Paris and many others. 

Image credit: Tamsin Drury