SNAFU - Society of Unexpected Spectacles (Canada)

André-Anne LeBlanc creates cheeky vignettes right in the palm of her hand and projects them onto a huge screen, with costumes by Jimbo, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.

Get ready for chills, roaring laughter, boundless imagination, mind-blowing illusions and even a few philosophical questions that will create a truly surreal twist in our brains.

Crazy, spicy, ingenious and mesmerising.

Epidermis Circus has been performed with great success in Canada and was invited by David Byrne to be part of his variety show in New York, but has also been at The Lincoln Centre NYC, in Mexico and France.

^{"5 STARS. Imagine Shari Lewis possessed by David Lynch” – Winnipeg Free Press}

^{“An enormously entertaining, one-hour madcap vaudeville show. It is chock full of riotous, naughty, and mystifying vignettes using her bare hands, her face, her mouth, tiny toys, and a doll’s head… transfixing the audience, and creating pin-drop silence interspersed with spontaneous bursts of laughter.” - Culture Catch NYC}

^{“Surpassing the world of the weird, the zany antics of Epidermis Circus live in a universe of absolutely absurd. Critic’s Choice NYC. ★★★★★” - Jaycie Buben, All About Solo NY}

^{"Object theatre of limitless inventiveness (...) This dazzling Canadian show stands out for its dizzying inventiveness." - Léna Martinelli, Les Trois Coups}

^{“A must-see!” - FringeReviews.com}

BIO

SNAFU - Society of Unexpected Spectacles is a Canadian company based in Victoria and founded in 2006. Their  vision is to create challenging, meaningful, fiery and free artistic spaces that shed light, share space, celebrate all bodies, and cultivate delight.

SNAFU’s work invigorates people of all ages, creating dynamic spaces for young and old to experience art together under new terms.  Their creative collaborations connect multi-disciplinary artists in theatre, storytelling, puppetry, dance, live music, drag, and visual art.  They create unexpected spectacles in unusual spaces, including bike trails, public washrooms, theatres, art galleries, fields, heritage sites, parking garages, schools and prisons.

SNAFU’s work has been compared to Wes Anderson and David Lynch, yet “hilarious, absurd and profoundly human” (The Star Phoenix Newspaper).

Ingrid Hansen and Britt Small are co-creators of Epidermis Circus. Britt has over 20 years experience as a director, producer, performer, curator, storyteller and teacher. Ingrid puppeteers on television for Sesame and Henson. She also puppeteers and voices characters on Henson’s new Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock series. Over the last decade she has built an ongoing collaboration with the inmates at the prison theatre company William Head on Stage, which operates inside a federal prison near Victoria.

André-Anne LeBlanc is a world-touring puppeteer, variety artist, and circus producer with a mesmerizing stage and television presence. With over 20 years setting the stage on fire internationally with the legendary Cabaret Décadanse, she has performed sexy adult puppetry from London’s West End to Broadway, and was cast in multiple variety cabarets worldwide. She is the co-creator and producer of MAJESTIQUE, a high-energy circus-cabaret that has toured successfully across Europe and North America. Sharp tongued and quick witted both in French and English, she brings glamour, precision and contageous joy to every performance. We are excited to have André-Anne understudy Ingrid for the Europe tour 2025!  She currently stars in Warner Bros Scooby-Doo and the Lost City of Gold, blending acting, singing and dancing with her true love: puppetry.

_CREDITS

_{Direction: Britt Small Created by: Ingrid Hansen, Britt Small Performer: André-Anne LeBlanc Stage management: Jessica Hickman Coproduction and creative contributions: Kathleen Greenfield Music: Hank Pine. Song 'Chocolat’ by The Merkin Sisters Costumes: Jimbo The Drag Clown (James Insell)  Additional puppetry coaching & jokes: Mike Petersen, Rod Peter Jr, Anand Rajaram, Victor Dolhai Photography: Helene Cyr, Ingrid Hansen, Bill Pope, Jam Hamidi, Support: Capital Regional District Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, National Arts Centre's #CanadaPerforms initiative, OAC’s Theatre Creators Reserve, Puppetmongers Touring support: BC Arts Council}

_{www.snafudance.com}