Review: With sadness and joy, Shana Carroll imagines a fallen circus artist in ‘The Attic’ at Goodman Theatre, tell me about this news in (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/16/the-attic-goodman-theatre-review/)

The Chicago Tribune review covers the world premiere of “The Attic: Things I’ve Seen While Lying On My Back” at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, written, directed, and choreographed by Tony-nominated circus artist Shana Carroll and performed by Montreal’s acclaimed collective, The 7 Fingers.

The production is an autobiographical hybrid of contemporary circus, physical theater, dance, and music. The premise centers on a former trapeze artist confronting a serious medical illness. While confined to a hospital bed and drifting beneath a CT scanner, her subconscious retreats to her slanted-ceiling childhood attic bedroom. From that horizontal vantage point, she looks back over her lifemoving from childhood dreams of swinging from ceiling rafters to decades performing high-flying aerial acrobatics around the world, and finally confronting vulnerability and mortality.

The review highlights how the show balances deep sorrow and celebratory joy. Instead of viewing illness purely as defeat, the production uses daring acrobatics, aerial feats, and ensemble choreography to externalize memory, courage, and fear. Multiple performers embody different versions and eras of Carroll’s life, turning the physical discipline and resilience learned on the trapeze into tools for facing life’s hardest moments.