The circus is coming! The circus is coming!

Bread & Puppet presents a brand new show, The Beginning After the End of Humanity Circus, in the tradition of the iconic circuses that began at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont in 1970. As usual, the show will draw on traditional circus tropes and familiar Bread and Puppet iconography to draw attention to the urgent issues of the day. Stilt dancers, paper maché beasts of all sizes, and a riotous brass band make a raucous, colorful spectacle of protest and celebration.

Director Peter Schumann describes the show as featuring, “tigers teaching the congress of cowards how to jump over billionaires and acquire the courage to not pay for the atrocities of the latest genocide; the proverbial sheep of the system refusing to be sheep and committing revolution against the system; and the blue horses of the peace and harmony terrorists of the Northeast Kingdom breaking through the wall of threatening clouds that hide the truth from the population and then galloping over the ruins of the truth industry.”

After the performance, Bread & Puppet will serve its free sourdough rye bread with aioli, and Bread & Puppet’s “Cheap Art” – books, posters, postcards, pamphlets, and banners from the Bread & Puppet Press – will be for sale.

Artist Bio

Bread & Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance, and slapstick. Its shows are political and spectacular, with huge puppets made of paper maché and cardboard. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City's Lower East Side, the theater has been based in the North East Kingdom of Vermont since the early 1970s.

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Saturday, September 7 at 5:00 PM, approximately 75 minutes. The band starts playing at 4:40 PM. 

This is a free outdoor performance at Fort Allen Park on Portland’s Eastern Promenade (49 Eastern Promenade). 

Please bring cash to donate to the artists or you can donate ahead of time through this ticket page.

A chair or blanket to sit on, sunscreen, and water are recommended.

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PAY WHAT YOU CAN

No one will be turned away from MSA events for lack of funds; please contact us at 207-879-4629 or info@mayostreetarts.org to learn more and reserve tickets.

EVENT PARKING

Free parking is available on the street.

ACCESSIBILITY

The audience area is located on the lawn at Fort Allen Park, which has a slight incline. Please visit the City of Portland's website for more information: https://www.portlandmaine.gov/1226/Fort-Allen-Park

If you would benefit from additional information or accommodations, we invite you to contact us at info@mayostreetarts.org or 207-879-4629.

COMMUNITY HEALTH

Audience members — in addition to artists, staff & volunteers — who feel sick or exhibit symptoms of illness should stay home out of respect for others.

ADMISSIONS POLICY

Audience members are free to come and go from this outdoor event as they please.

CANCELATION POLICY

MSA has a no refund policy for all reservations. In the event that MSA is forced to cancel an event due to weather, illness, etc., refunds will be offered via the Ticket Tailor platform.