- Playing
- Circus Life: The Last Sideshow
- From
- Helen Borten
What is it like on the other side of the peephole? The Half-Girl, the Snake Lady, the Fat Man and others share their experiences and surprising views of a cultural anachronism.
One :30 promo (click "listen" page, promo labeled "segment 2")
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Piece Description
What is it like on the other side of the peephole? The Half-Girl, the Snake Lady, the Fat Man and others share their experiences and surprising views of a cultural anachronism. One :30 promo (click "listen" page, promo labeled "segment 2")
2 Comments
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Review of Circus Life: The Last SideshowDiane Arbus once said of "freaks" ( I'm paraphrasing here) that they are our aristocrats. In knowing what suffering is from birth they have an understanding of the universe that others don't begin to grasp until later in life--if ever. Well, what Arbus said is evident in this piece. Borten's ineterviewees are dignified, determined and they offer some wisdom about the world and human nature that anyone would benefit from. This would be great to broadcast along with Jason Rayles' "Fair." Borten offers a literal asessment of the carnival culture and Rayles offers an impressionistic interpretation. Both Borten and Rayles leave us with a greater insight into who we are as a society and in doing so we are left asking "why ?" |
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Jonathan Goldstein
Posted on July 25, 2004 at 09:52 AM | Permalink
Review of Circus Life: The Last Sideshow
“It’s just a spiel… I’m an exhibitionistic… a ham, I guess.” So says Howard Huge, circus fat man who tells you that he’s stared at all the time, but at the sideshow he gets to make money at the same time. The last sideshow is a strange sort of defense of sideshow life, and it comes straight from the mouths of the performers. Perhaps improbably, radio is the perfect medium for such a story because it allows the physical attributes of the performers to be both on stage and off stage all at the same time. Helen Borten brings you an age that is in the process of being lost. She presents us with wonderful voices and great stories filled with wisdom and crazy surprises. This is entertaining, thoroughly captivating radio. It’s also a work of real importance.