Biography

Skinning the Cat (1988-2002) was a pioneering all-female aerial company from Bradford, founded by Rebecca Truman in 1988.

Rebecca graduated with BA (Hons) in Art & Design in 1988 and this same year she was commissioned to organise a fashion cabaret and perform a trapeze show by the Bradford Festival in the Wool Exchange. She joined Cathie Sprague to deliver this project, which became the basis of Skinning the Cat and marked Rebecca’s debut as a professional performer. Over the years, Rebecca trained as a professional performer in circus schools in London and Paris while Cathie, who had been teaching printmaking, puppetry and circus, in Bradford in the early 1980s, enrolled on the RA RA ZOO’s circus skills course in 1986, where she trained on the trapeze.

Overtime, Cathie became an all-round performer learning Chinese juggling, fire manipulation, acrobatics, diabolo and clowning. She worked with Skinning the Cat between 1988 and 1991.

Skinning the Cat emerged at the time when experimental circus was still in its infancy and aerial acts outside the circus tent were particularly rare. The name of the company came from a trapeze move, which is an ironic statement against the use of wild animals in circus. Skinning the Cat’s first show challenged the use of wild animals in circus by using the concept of animalistic physicality in their performance and becoming the animals breaking free.

Skinning the Cat was a pioneer contemporary circus and the first company in the UK to tour an aerial rig. They were among the first exponents of the corde lisse routine in the UK and they inspired many new circus companies and became the forerunner of contemporary circus.

Within a year of its formation the company was touring around Europe to critical acclaim. Under Becky’s artistic vision the crew designed and made their own costumes and set pieces, additionally they managed all aspects of their tours from show production to rig construction. Between the 1990s and the mid-2000s, the business grew from strength to strength leading the way in experimental aerial theatre techniques in contemporary circus.

In 2002, Rebecca created a special show for the Millennium Dome and she was made artistic director of the Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing ceremonies in Manchester. This same year Skinning the Cat received a grant from the Arts Council to develop what would become the final touring show, entitled ‘Rubicon’.

Skinning the Cat featured in some of the most prominent festivals and events of the time, including; Glastonbury, London International Mime Festival, Circus of the Streets, Covent Garden Piazza, Leeds City Varieties, Stockholm Water Festival, the launch of the Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, Aurillac Showcase Festival in France, Tarrega Showcase Festival in Spain, Moscow State Circus, The Rheinhalle Köln in Germany, launch of the Tall Ships Race in both Edinburgh and Amsterdam, launch of the BMW car in Portugal, Sabena Airlines and the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Additionally, they held a residency at the Millennium Dome.

Skinning the Cat was dissolved in 2002.

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