MOTHER.WOMAN.ARTISt Cie MDS Marianna De SanctisA raw and natural stand-up circus show
There is a reality behind creating a show: the difficulty of bringing it to life.
There is a reality in the journey of an artist: being forged by harsh criticism, prejudice, and power games.
There is a reality when trying to sell your show: being a mother.
A show with an open heart. A tribute to the legitimate fragility of the stage. A raw, real, and ironic circus performance, open to questions from the audience, with an artist on stage sharing a lived experience of violence and discrimination she herself endured.
A #MeToo that claims the victory of becoming who you choose.
© CREDITS
Created and performed by: Marianna De Sanctis & Maë Lestage
Life support: Yaelle Antoine Artistic support: Nicanor de Elia
Photography: Camilla La Verde
Graphic design: Alma Kaiser
Administration: Collectif Tarabiscoté
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / PARTNERS
Residencies and training: La Grainerie, Erasmus+, Pistacatro, EsacTo Lido, Le Samovar, CNAC
Mother.Woman.Artist. can be performed in French, English, Spanish, or Italian.
The video is in French with English subtitles.
Press quotes
“Walking a tightrope between documentary-style storytelling and the complex, often painful reality of combining the roles of mother, woman, and artist, Marianna De Sanctis transforms the stage into a cathartic space. She blends intimate violence with the subtle self-mockery of clowning. A raw and sincere performance, at the crossroads of circus, theatre, and personal testimony.”
“The body of the athlete, shaped by years of meticulous training, becomes an act of protest against misogyny—whether institutional, familial, or artistic. Marianna De Sanctis delivers a powerful political statement, deeply rooted in lived experience, questioning the place of the female artist in a society still riddled with inequality.”
“Blending one-woman show, tragic clowning, acrobatic choreography, and poetic storytelling, Marianna De Sanctis unfolds a hybrid and daring form. Without the safety net of conventional fiction, she invites the audience into a relationship of mutual trust, in a raw performance that turns the stage into a cosmos of meaning and emotion.”