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In general the aim of this paper is to link the recent tendency towards ritual poverty in theatre and circus to contemporary philosophical thought. Due to the loss of meaning of philosophical concepts that define the human subject as a centred, autonomous and mystical entity, also the basic concepts of the performance arts have changed. In this context we would like to indicate the abandonment of the aesthetics of representation for an exploration of what lies beyond representation: presence. In theatre this evolution is manifested in the shift from dramatic theatre to postdramatic theatre. After a period of interdisciplinarity known as „Nouveau Cirque?, contemporary circus recently manifest the same desire for presence.

Secondly, we would like to argue that with the gaining importance of the Real both theatre and circus seem to approach their ritual origins. This evolution is widely known in postdramatic definitions of theatre as performance, ceremony or social event. In circus however, the matter is more complex due to the ambiguous and physical connection to reality. In many ways circus resembles ritual, which drives us to propose an analytical frame for circus as a contemporary ritual on the level of function, experience and aesthetics. The latter however is not a closed and perfectly fitting scientific tool, but has to be understood as a map that can guide us in the fascinating adventure of analyzing the increasingly popular landscape of contemporary circus. [author summary]