ABOUT STAV
״A generous artist’s soul aimed gracefully, has the power to make lasting social change״ - Suzi Winson
Stav Meishar (she/they) is an award-winning performance maker, interdisciplinary artist, researcher and educator. Their work seeks to intersect history and current affairs by mixing together tools from the worlds of theatre, circus, and contemporary performance, exploring the power of art as an investigative tool for inciting change.
Photo by Annelies Vanhove
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Stav's proudest achievement is creating The Escape Act: A Holocaust Memoir, a one-person show blending puppetry, theatre and circus, rooted in a decade of historic research. It is based on the true story of Irene Danner, a Jewish acrobat who survived the Holocaust hiding at a German circus, and examines questions of antisemitism, xenophobia, and generational-trauma. The show toured in Finland, Germany and England, frequently with an accompanying exhibition and educational talk.
Recently Stav was one of 31 artists commissioned by disabled-led arts organisation Dash for WAIWAV, a project which was the largest showcase of work by d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists ever to be presented in the UK to date, spanning 30 galleries in the Plus Tate network. Stav's The Barbette Project (2019-2023) was a groundbreaking performance devising tool blending theatre, circus and live art, exploring gender performance and body image via the true story of Barbette, star gender-bending circus artist of the early 20th century. The work was pre-selected for the 2024 edition of circusnext, the EU's most important platform for the support and development of emerging contemporary circus talent. Outside their stage work, Stav is a dedicated historic researcher, writer and lecturer. Their work spans their many interests, intersecting Jewish culture, circus history and/or queer history. Stav's research has been presented in academic conferences, festivals and public events around the world. |
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Awards, Grants and Accolades:
Stav is a current Artist-in-Residence at The Pomegranate Tent Collective and a proud member of the ROI Community. She is the Fall 2025 Fellow at the Circus & Allied Arts Collection at Illinois State University. Stav was previously a Theatremacher Fellow with the Alliance for Jewish Theatre, and was selected for The Jewish Week's 36 Under 36. Stav has been awarded The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus First of May Award and The Jewish Education Project's Young Pioneer Award. Stav's stage work has received support from Arts Council England, The Puffin Foundation, TelepART, The European Cultural Foundation, NoFit State Circus, The Jewish Education Project, West of England Combined Authority, Alliance for Jewish Theatre, and others. Stav's work has been commissioned by Tate Britain, DASH Arts, JW3 (United Kingdom), De Spil Cultuurcentum, Kunstercentrum Vooruit, Circuscentrum Vlaanderen (Belgium) and Kucku Festival (Finland). Recent residencies include Prema Arts Centre (Uley UK), Jacksons Lane (London UK), The Invisible Circus / Unit 15 Creation Space, The Island - Artspace Lifespace (Bristol UK), and Loviisa Artist Studio (Finland). |
Photo by Asaf Sagi
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As a child actor growing up in Israel, Stav worked with legendary producer and director Menahem Golan; provided the Hebrew voiceover for Fleur Delacour in Warner Bros' film Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire; and was cast in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing at the prestigious Beit Lessin Theatre.
Growing up, Stav immigrated to New York City where they trained and performed in various theatre, circus and musical theatre shows, sharing the stage with giants like Joel Grey, Mandy Patinkin, and Dudu Fisher. She's performed at Lincoln Center, NY City Hall, La MaMa ETC, Dixon Place, Baruch Performing Arts Center, The House of Yes, and many more. Stav's favourite credit was in the Off-Broadway production of The Megile of Itzik Manger, where they became the first artist to ever perform aerial circus in a Yiddish production. Now based between Bristol and New York, Stav is proud to be a queer, disabled and neurodivergent immigrant of Middle-Eastern and Jewish roots. Their work will always and forever be shaped by those lenses. Stav received her MA in Contemporary Circus Practices from the Stockholm University of the Arts (formerly DOCH). They hold a BFA in Musical Theatre from The New School in New York summa cum laude, with a double minor in Gender Studies and Jewish Culture. Additional training includes: Certificate: Vocational Level 5 Contemporary Circus with Physical Theatre, 2019 (Circomedia UK); Certificate: Teaching Circus to Special Needs Children, 2014 (Holistic Circus Therapy); Certificate: Ring One Teacher, 2013 (CircusYoga) |
Photo by Kaleido Shoots
Photo by Hannah Ede
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