It’s nearly Purim — this year, the holiday begins on the evening of Thursday, March 13 — and there’s no shortage of family-friendly ways to spend this joyful Jewish holiday, including costume parties, art exhibits, carnivals and playful tellings of the Purim story.
But if you’re looking for something a little bit different, you could bring the kids to a Purim-themed circus.
On Saturday afternoon, ahead of the holiday, ABCirque — a Brooklyn-based contemporary circus company — is hosting a family-friendly Purim-themed show, Cirque du Purim, at Hana House (345 Adams St.), a Korean restaurant and event space in downtown Brooklyn.
For ABCirque director Angela Buccini — who spent some years living and working in the acrobatics and circus world in Israel in the 2010s — the connection between the circus and Purim was an obvious one.
“It’s such a perfect, synergetic collaboration,” Buccini said. “It’s just the element of dressing up and that everything goes and everything’s accepted, and just that it’s a party, it’s a celebration [with] food, music.”
This year, the afternoon event will open with a live music dance party for all, followed by performances by acrobats, jugglers, stilt-walkers and clowns. Guided by an emcee, each act will perform a part of the Purim story, in which a Jewish woman in ancient Persia named Esther hides her identity and marries King Ahashverosh. When Esther learns of a plot by the king’s evil advisor, Haman, to rid the kingdom of its Jews, she risks her life by revealing her Jewish identity to the king and, eventually — spoiler alert! — the Jews are saved.
The event will also include activities like face painting and photo booths, the likes of which are often found at Purim carnivals, a long-held Jewish tradition to celebrate the holiday. The boisterous carnival energy reflects the Jewish tradition of dressing in costume and drinking to the point of confusing Mordechai (Esther’s cousin and one of the heroes of the story) and Haman (the villain) and turning the whole day upside-down.
Costumes are also encouraged at the Cirque du Purim, and there’s a bit of an educational component, too: Following the show, the audience is invited to join the circus for an afternoon with “try-it” stations, where families they attempt juggling, hula hooping and walking a low tightwire. (ABCirque offers lessons in these arts for both children and adults.)
“It’s just a really nice model where they see it and then try it,” Buccini said. “We found, especially with kids, that element of trying it afterwards is really important.”
The Cirque du Purim isn’t ABCirque’s first foray into Jewish-themed performance; in 2018, the troupe put on a show inspired by composer Steve Reich’s 1988 classical work, “Different Trains,” which tells the story of Reich’s own childhood voyages to visit his separated parents on the opposite American coasts, while imagining that had he been born in Europe, he would have likely been taking trains to a concentration camp.
Buccini is not Jewish, although she met her Jewish husband in Israel and they celebrate Shabbat every Friday. She estimates that about half of the Cirque du Purim cast is Jewish, though she emphasizes that everyone is welcome at the Jewish holiday-themed event.
“Especially in today’s world, we really want to make sure people know this is open to everybody,” Buccini said. “It is the Jewish story of Purim, but it is a very inclusive environment, and we want everyone to be able to celebrate that. When you come in under the big top, you can kind of leave the world outside alone, and just feel joy.”
Cirque du Purim is on Saturday, March 8, from 2 p.m – 4 p.m. Click here for tickets and more information.
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