A brave and deeply personal circus performance about transformation, liberation and rebirth. In a powerful solo, Diana Salles leads the audience through the funeral of Diego; the person she once was.

Wearing a large black crinoline dress, Diane meets us at the door to the performance space, expressing her grief. From that point an emotional journey of transition begins, told through aerial acrobatics, dance, music, changes of costume and physically bold scenic expressivity. All of it very precise, very generous, and very beautiful.

Delusional – I Killed a Man revolves around the need to leave an earlier version of oneself behind in order to live authentically. With vigorous physical presence and extreme vulnerability, Salles expresses the strength needed to honor the core of a person. A contemporary circus performance about survival, courage and self-determination. And about leaving one’s past life behind in order to be reborn.

Brazilian-born Diana Salles is a well-established and prize-winning voice in contemporary circus in Europe and beyond. Educated at l’École Supérieure des Arts du Cirque in Belgium, specializing in aerial silks, she unifies technical meticulousness and artistry, and lucidly questions social and identity politics in her work.

With the solo production Delusional –  I Killed a Man, she continues to develop her artistry in a performance about transition and identity. This piece was highly praised at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival and has subsequently toured internationally, further strengthening her position as an important queer voice in contemporary circus.

Performed in English without surtitles.

On Stage

Diana Salles

Text and Concept
Diana Salles

Artistic Direction
Firenza Guidi

Costume Design
Alexander Michael Arnold

Music and Sound Composition
Lukas Thielecke

Graphic Design
Théo Martin

Supported by

Quartier Libre
Goethe-Institut
Polas Berlin
Zirkus ON Creation Alliance
Fondazione Vertigo

Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts (BFDK)
Tollhaus Karlsruhe
Commissioner for Culture and Media of the Federal Government of Germany
Ballhaus Prinzenallee Berlin
Chamäleon Berlin

DELUSIONAL ‘I killed a man’ is proudly supported by the Zirkus ON Creative Alliance, funded by the Commissioner for Culture and Media of the Federal Government of Germany through the programme Promoting Connections within the Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts (BFDK).