SHOW

In the 1890s, an impoverished contortionist from North Britain, an alternate Canada, joins a notably diverse band of teen circus performers on a road trip across the viciously racist and ableist Empire of America.

Following his father’s death, white farm boy Solomon Hunt, 15, sets off in hopes of supporting his mother and younger siblings. He meets the Seer, a nonspeaking little person with a mysterious history, and helps free him from the museum where he’s on display. The two go on the run, crossing the American Empire border into Buffalo. As they gather up other performers, they’re pursued by ruthless showman Leopold J. Coop, who has lofty political ambitions, across a nation in which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before becoming president. Progressing toward Hollywood via steam train, dirigible, and stagecoach, their growing company of outsiders includes Cleo, a Black girl who was being used in a terrifying carnival act; Angus, an unusually tall white boy, who was sold by his parents; and genderfluid Chinese and Irish American martial artist John (sometimes Joan) Chan. With savagery that cuts to the bone—and without glossing over North Britain’s racialized abuses—Peacock highlights the American entertainment industry’s exploitation of vulnerable, marginalized people in this tense, triumphant outing. As the zigzag journey winds its way to a climactic confrontation, the story explores the autonomy-seeking leads’ belief that “we all just want to be respected, be recognized as individuals and be worth something.”

A memorable cast animates this dark, disturbing, and insightful vision.