Transhumance: A clown show about gender
“Transhumance manages to be both a deeply personal story of self-identification and a universal experience of gender paradigms.”
Follow one clown’s magical journey across the landscape of gender in search of a place to call home with Transhumance. In this all-ages show, award-winning clown Ania Upstill playfully explores what it means to be a trans human—or any human—in a society where the gender binary often blocks us from the richness of human experience. It is 'a deeply personal story of self-identification and a universal experience of gender paradigms' (TheatreScenes.co.nz).
Join us on a heartfelt and surreal journey through and around gender norms, full of joy and buoyancy. In a time when the conversations around gender are so sensitive and often heated, Ania’s clowning brings some much needed beauty and humor to the subject. Winner of a Best Weekly Award for Circus and Physical Theatre at Adelaide Fringe in 2020, the show was last seen in the Kennedy Center's Social Impact Series in June 2024. Transhumance has entranced American and international audiences, from Austin, TX to Adelaide, Australia, all the way to four star reviews at Edinburgh Fringe. Reviewers have called Transhumance 'a work of joy and playfulness – whimsical, witty, and replete with wonder' (TheatreView.org.nz) and 'a deeply personal story of self-identification and a universal experience of gender paradigms' (TheatreScenes.co.nz).
For Upstill, clowning brings buoyancy, joy, and fun into the often-heated conversations around trans and nonbinary identities. “I think when I wrote this show in 2020 it was before its time,” says Upstill. “The conversation around gender and, in particular, gender beyond the binary has really expanded since then. Unfortunately, with more visibility and openness has come more backlash against transgender and gender expansive people, so I also think it’s more important than ever to create and perform theatre that engages with gender non-conformity with curiosity.”
