We are Nick van der Heyden (NL, 1990) and Germain Charlat (FR, 1997), trained as circus artists at Fontys Circus, specializing in handbalancing (Nick) and trapeze (Germain). Our practice is fully dedicated to the fusion of circus and drag. Through drag, we discovered a powerful way to tell stories and express our creativity in makeup and costume design. The name House of Circus is a playful nod to the Houses of the drag scene. We believe that combining circus and drag can build a bridge between the two disciplines, making them more accessible to a wider audience. This fusion offers a platform to celebrate diversity and to contribute to a future where every individual is embraced for who they are.
We combine circus elements such as trapeze, handbalancing, and clowning with drag, acting, and performance art, creating atmospheres and characters on stage. Audience connection, costumes, makeup, and set design all play a central role in our work. Over the past few years, we have created three major projects exploring the fusion of circus and drag. These include Spotlight (with Korzo), a 60-minute indoor performance about the evolution of our drag personas Hayden and Iconnee; Fitness, a 30-minute interactive street show about body positivity and self-love; and Carnivale Royale, a 75-minute circus cabaret celebrating activism and diversity, in which we collaborated with local artists.
We’ve worked with TENT on many occasions. In 2021, we took part in their Maker for a Week program. In both 2021 and 2024, we developed two performances commissioned by TENT and This is not a circus. Now, with the New Makers Grant from the Performing Arts Fund NL, we are excited to invest in the development of our artistic practice from 2025 to 2027, in collaboration with TENT. We’ll dive into the drag scene and into a series of research weeks focused on experimentation. The grand finale will be the creation of Oblivious, which is expected to premiere in 2027. Our motto: “Be who you want to be, wear what you want to wear and love who you want to love.”
THEIR PRESENTATIONS
Oblivious
