About
A mention of The Women’s Circus never fails to spark interest, as a long-standing feminist organisation finding its roots in Footscray in the early 1990s its story never disappoints. After searching and failing to find a circus company that was accepting of different body types and where the training equipment wasn’t dominated by male company members, Donna Jackson founded The Women’s Circus in the Footscray drill hall. Many of the first members to join the organisation were victims of domestic violence and the circus served as an environment for women to regain confidence, re-claim their bodies and ultimately to rewrite their stories. Both then and now, the Women’s Circus brings together a diverse range of women of various ethnicities and walks of life, with their only common ground being the goal to create something together.
‘Behind The Curtain; The Woman’s Circus’ explores the world of The Women’s Circus in Footscray. The piece focuses on where and why the circus began, what it has grown into today and why it is such a fundamental organisation to many womens lives.