Describing herself as "a showwoman and magical performance artiste", Marisa Carnesky first gained attention with performance collective Duckie and their Olivier award-winning cabaret show C'est Barbican. Her best-known production, a fairground ride called Carnesky's Ghost Train, is now a permanent fixture on Blackpool's seafront. Dystopian Wonders premieres at London's Roundhouse from 21-24 April as part of Circusfest 2010.
Tell me about your new production
I've been researching the history of waxwork and body shows, things like Madame Tussauds, Gunther von Hagens's Body Worlds, and also the mummified corpses of Catholic saints. I'm fascinated by the idea of the body reanimating and how – certainly for me – when you see waxworks, the thing you're most excited by is that they might come back to life.
Sounds rather macabre...
Yes, and there's so much controversy surrounding it. How did Madame Tussaud get hold of the severed heads of the French royal family and the revolutionaries to make casts? Was she made to cast them or did she dig them up?
So is it a spooky show?
Quite eerie. I play a showwoman who takes you around her bizarre exhibition of bodies which come to life. Then a southern gospel preacher arrives and everything turns sinister. Our cast is from the worlds of cabaret, circus and dance.
Circus seems to be having "a moment". Why is that?
Partly because of the explosion of festivals straying beyond pop and rock music to offer other acts and partly because circus training has opened up beyond circus families in the last 20 years. The more we become a technology-driven culture with people sitting on Facebook all day, the more people want to get in a field with thousands of others and have somebody fly above their heads looking like they might fall. It's death-defying. It makes the blood pump through your body, you feel the thrill of being alive.
Your work often explores female identity. Are you a feminist?
Of course. But my work doesn't have a political agenda, it's not flag waving. Because I'm eccentric I find stories of other eccentric ladies, such as Madame Tussaud, fascinating, particularly if they had to fight adversity, or their stories have been hidden.
Is your home life as fantastical as your stage shows?
To an extent. We have a black cat, a house full of bizarre objets d'art and sometimes I saw my husband in half with the power drill. But I also spend time cleaning. I'm looking for a spell for it to do itself but haven't found one yet!
You're a very busy performer. Do you manage to get to the theatre much?
I try to. I loved Shunt's new show Money. I want my shows to feel like you're locked in a David Lynch movie and I think Shunt are the same. They're a very clever and inventive company.