The Methodology of Circus Audio Description : Theoretical and Practical Foundations of the Audio Description Program at the Capital Circus of Budapest

Fekete, Péter and Borsi, Cintia and Joó, Emese and Vas, Anna and Pál, Dániel Levente (2025) The Methodology of Circus Audio Description : Theoretical and Practical Foundations of the Audio Description Program at the Capital Circus of Budapest. SZÍNHÁZTUDOMÁNYI SZEMLE, 48 (01/02). pp. 66-79. ISSN 0133-9907

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Abstract

Since 2016, the Capital Circus of Budapest (Fõvárosi Nagycirkusz), Hungary’s state-funded national circus institution, has run a regular program of audio-described (AD) performances for blind and partially sighted audiences. Over the years, the experience and knowledge accumulated in this field has been systematized and shared within the circus profession. The Capital Circus has become one of the first circus institutions worldwide to develop a comprehensive, transferable protocol for live audio description in a non-verbal performance genre. This paper situates this work within the broader context of accessibility in the performing arts, outlines the specific challenges of providing audio description in circus – a predominantly non-verbal, movement-based form – and presents the methodology and practice developed at the Capital Circus. The article describes the institutional strategy; the preparatory and tactile pre-show activities; live audio description during the performance; and the subsequent evaluation and refinement processes. It also highlights how this practice contributes to equal access, inclusion and full participation in cultural life for blind and partially sighted people, and how the methodology has begun to influence circus practice in other countries.

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