Phare, the Cambodian Circus

Cambodia has a long history of performing arts that share commonalities with what is grouped under the “circus” banner nowadays. And like many of the country’s ancient artforms, these traditions of acrobatics found themselves oppressed and vilified by the Khmer Rouge regime of dictator Pol Pot during the late 1970s. Inspired and supported by Maoist China, the Khmer Rouge intended to replace the country’s old culture with a completely new one based on communist ideals. As such, traditional craftsmen and artists were routinely executed along with any dissidents, their relatives and even acquaintances. Cultural persecution thus became a part of one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.

Decades after this genocide, Cambodia still grapples with its consequences, not just in psychological terms but also the economic ripples of missing almost entire generations. As such, cities like Battambang, which was close to the border with Thailand and teeming with refugees, found themselves with high rates of poverty and children living on the streets. It was in this context that Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS) was born in 1994.

A team of now adults, who had spent their childhood in refugee camps in Thailand, found themselves inspired by an art therapy program. This made them see their PPS initiative as a way to give other generations of disadvantaged children and young people the tools necessary to change their lives. While PPS’s headquarters continue to be based in Battambang, their international flagship is Phare, the Cambodian Circus.

Most Phare performers may have originally lived in Battambang, but they now perform several shows per week in Siem Reap, the country’s main tourist city. Their circus style takes some queues from the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil, highlighting human acrobatics and an artistic approach to their shows. Phare does not shy from references to the country’s troubled history along with universal themes of strife. Phare has several shows that rotate on their performances. “Khmer Metal,” for example, starts in a tourist pub the morning after a wild night, and features imagery like beer towers and drunk brawls, while “Influence” shows an authoritarian antagonist in a Mao-collared shirt.

Phare’s aesthetic is a bit more DIY than Cirque du Soleil’s current shows, but it is all part of their social enterprise aspects. Funds from their performances support PPS’s other initiatives, which not only train future performers but also assist schools, art programs, and current performers’ families. Following the massive negative impact of COVID-19 in tourism-focused Siem Reap, PPS needed an extreme act to raise additional funds for its reestablishment. It was this that led to their March 2021 performance. Including members of their Battambang and Phare crews, the show lasted just over 24 hours, earning them the still-standing (as of mid-2024) Guinness World Record for longest circus performance.