North Barn Theatre, August - September 2021
Created, designed and performed by Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson
Musical composition by GaRRy Williams
Troubling Joy is a lively circus featuring a cast of puppets who, in recognizing their discontent with the
social structures that dictate how they live, discover the pleasure of change. Playing within the traditional
circus format, the North Barn Theatre Collective uses puppetry, moving image, and song to investigate
the promise of happiness, its illusions and our collective capacity to imagine new futures. The show will
appeal to the senses of all ages and is toured exclusively by bicycle.
“The show is contained to two bicycle trailers, which means we can set it up anywhere,” says co-creator
Ian McFarlane. “What is interesting about touring a show by bicycle is that you can’t hop directly from one
cultural hub to another, you have to explore all of the spaces in between. It’s a wonderful opportunity to
meet new people and to share our work with those who might not otherwise see it.”
Created, designed and performed by Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson
Musical composition by GaRRy Williams
Troubling Joy is a lively circus featuring a cast of puppets who, in recognizing their discontent with the
social structures that dictate how they live, discover the pleasure of change. Playing within the traditional
circus format, the North Barn Theatre Collective uses puppetry, moving image, and song to investigate
the promise of happiness, its illusions and our collective capacity to imagine new futures. The show will
appeal to the senses of all ages and is toured exclusively by bicycle.
“The show is contained to two bicycle trailers, which means we can set it up anywhere,” says co-creator
Ian McFarlane. “What is interesting about touring a show by bicycle is that you can’t hop directly from one
cultural hub to another, you have to explore all of the spaces in between. It’s a wonderful opportunity to
meet new people and to share our work with those who might not otherwise see it.”