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.
Now based between Bristol and New York, Stav is proud to be a queer, disabled and neurodivergent migrant of Middle-Eastern and Jewish roots. Their work will always and forever be shaped by these lenses.
Now based between Bristol and New York, Stav is proud to be a queer, disabled and neurodivergent migrant of Middle-Eastern and Jewish roots. Their work will always and forever be shaped by these lenses.
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 We Are Invisible We Are Visible, 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 selected for the 2024 edition of circusnext, the EU's most important platform for the support and development of emerging contemporary circus talent. |
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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.
Awards, Grants and Accolades: Stav is a current 2025-2026 fellow in the Genesis JLF Emerging Writers Programme, working on her debut creative nonfiction novel about the Lorch Family Circus Dynasty. Recently Stav was selected for the 2025 cohort of the Discover Programme from Without Walls UK, and served as the Fall 2025 Fellow at The Milner Library's Circus & Allied Arts Collection at Illinois State University. She is a current Artist-in-Residence at The Pomegranate Tent Collective and a member of the Schusterman Family's ROI Community. |
Photo by Asaf Sagi
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Stav has previously served as a Theatremacher Fellow with the Alliance for Jewish Theatre; she was selected for The Jewish Week's 36 Under 36; and has been awarded The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus First of May Award and The Jewish Education Project's Young Pioneer Award.
Stav's 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).
Stav's 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 Kaleido Shoots
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Stav's roots lie in theater and musical theatre. As a child actor Stav worked with legendary producer and director Menahem Golan; provided the Hebrew voiceover for Fleur Delacour in the 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, Webster Hall, Dixon Place, Baruch Performing Arts Center, The House of Yes, and 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. |
Photo by Hannah Ede
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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: Contemporary Circus with Physical Theatre, Level 5 Certificate, 2019 (Circomedia UK); Certificate: Teaching Circus to Special Needs Children, 2014 (Holistic Circus Therapy, certification approved by American Occupational Therapy Association); Ring One Teacher certification, 2013 (CircusYoga) |
