Dr Marisa Carr (stage name Marisa Carnesky is an Oliver Award winning theatre maker and academic researcher. She combines stage illusions, circus skills and fairground technologies with new writing to create spectacular contemporary performance that explores narratives around gender, identity, ritual and aesthetics. Her major works include Carnesky’s Ghost Train, an art-house theme park ride, (2004-2014),  Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman, a stage magic and theatre work devised at National Theatre Studios (2016-19), Carnesky’s Tarot Drome, an immersive ensemble show (2012-14) and Showwomen, a feminist circus spectacular 2021, evolved from a 4 woman theatre piece into a 33 women outdoor promenade work commissioned by Bartholemew Fair and Brighton Festival (2023-2024).  Her solo shows include Jewess Tattooess (1999-2002) which toured internationally including LA International Festival and Magic War  (2007) co commissioned by Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Brussels. She was an AHRC fellow at The University of Sheffield’s National Circus and Fairground Archive. Marisa was awarded her PhD at Middlesex University in 2019. Obsessions Of A Showwoman, The Performance Worlds of Marisa Carnesky Ed: Erini Kartsaki was published by Intellect (2024).