Documentary is one of the purest forms of storytelling that media professionals have at their disposal and sometimes doc ideas can come from unlikely places. In my case what started out as a random message on Facebook turned into a TV programme - Adam Pearson: Freak Show – that not only has me nominated for a Grierson Award but actually changed my life too.
In April 2014 I received a message from a freak show based in America. They had seen my work in British film Under the Skin and were keen to work with me. My initial reaction was nervous laughter coupled with mild offence. Having grown up with a facial disfigurement I have been bullied and terms like ‘freak’ and ‘elephant man’ take me back to the school playground and those darker parts of my adolescence.
But the longer the idea floated around my head the more fascinated I became. I discussed it with the betty development team and we hit on the idea of making a documentary for BBC Three about modern day freak shows.
I kind-of wanted to face up to my demons. Was I getting upset and offended over nothing? Was I already part of a freak show through my work on TV? Did I actually have anything in common with Joseph Merrick?
But first things first. I sat down to watch The Elephant Man – a film I had previously avoided. Upon seeing it, I started to experience a shift in my thinking and I felt a bizarre affinity towards Joseph Merrick.
The word “journey” is overused in documentary and it drives me crazy. But the experience truly was a journey and this was the beginning. Whether it was sitting in a trailer in Mexico with two wolf boys (they have a condition called hypertrichosis which causes excess hair growth), hanging out with 999 Eyes Freak Show in Texas, or embracing my inner freak on the streets of Las Vegas at Halloween to see if I could make money – I learnt loads about myself.
Being part of this film enabled me to see the world of Freak Shows in a whole new light. For me, documentary making is about challenging the audience’s perception of the world around them and this subject matter certainly challenged me. I went through the whole gamut of emotions during filming and by the end I had reconciled how I felt about freak shows.
I decided that if you want to be part of a freak show it’s okay as long as you are not being exploited and you’re owning the experience and enjoying it. There’s nothing wrong with being a freak. So I ended the film by putting on my very own freak show cabaret. To have travelled that far and immersed myself so deeply in that world and done nothing with all my new found skills and knowledge would have utterly undermined all the hard work everyone had put in. So I took to the stage at the Vauxhall Theatre Tavern in front of punters, colleagues and my boss (thanks for coming Neil Smith).
I’ve never been one for overdramatizing things – though this experience has truly changed me, both as a person and as a professional. It also gave me the opportunity to confront my demons and see past the word “freak”. This experience made me a better person as well as a better presenter.
I loved everything about making this doc and couldn’t have done it without my director Nick Poyntz and Producer Izzy Fonseca. Also a huge thank you to my execs Ceri Jones and Vicky Hamburger for their continued encouragement and investment in me as a broadcaster.
-----
ADAM PEARSON is nominated for Documentary Presenter of the Year for Adam Pearson: Freak Show & The Ugly Face of Disability Hate Crime at The Grierson Awards 2016.
Nick Poyntz, Sophie Binyon for betty; first shown: BBC Three
