Bipolar Ringmaster, the precursor to Box of Frogs, was commissioned by Unlimited in 2010 as a developmental one-man show performed by Eric MacLennan. A work-in-progress was presented at the Bluecoat in Liverpool in November that year.

The show followed Ennui, a circus ringmaster with Bipolar Disorder, using his obsession with circus as a metaphor for euphoric episodes. He delivered a chaotic circus history lecture, and argued with himself via internal monologues played on TV monitors. We opened with a 7-minute fade-in, as Ennui struggled to stand, prompting a critique that it was “a bit slow to start,” a remark that remains Mish’s favourite review. In our devising period, we visited Norman Barrett MBE when he was with Zippos Circus, and he delighted us with anecdotes from his Guinness World record-winning career as a Ringmaster.

Bipolar Ringmaster was later performed outdoors in Leeds, where Ennui led a tour to the grave of Pablo Fanque, a fascinating 19th-century, black, circus proprietor. During one performance, an audience member asked Ennui how he felt about being advertised as “Bipolar Ringmaster”—a question that sparked ongoing reflection around neuro-disabled identity and perception, and also circus ‘freak’ history.

This was the first time Mish publicly acknowledged her mood disorder, beginning a journey of self-identification in her professional context. As public understanding has evolved over the past 15 years, Mish’s core focus is to explore modern public perceptions and ask: how does brain function shape social interaction—and how is that behaviour received?

The project became Box of Frogs, where Ennui finally got his circus. Internal dialogues were reimagined as animations, and a broader range of Bipolar experiences was explored through circus performance.