Phare, The Cambodian Circus

Phare, The Cambodian Circus is a contemporary circus in Siem Reap where young Cambodian artists use acrobatics, theatre, dance and live music to tell Cambodian stories. It plays every night under a big top two kilometres from Pub Street, and every ticket supports the Battambang arts school where the performers trained.

If you only have one evening in Siem Reap that is not spent on Pub Street, spend it here. We send almost every guest, of every age, and it is the thing they mention most often afterwards apart from Angkor itself. It is also one of the clearest examples in Cambodia of tourism money doing real good.

What Phare actually is

Forget the idea of a traditional circus with animals and a ringmaster. Phare is closer to physical theatre. Each production has a storyline, a live band playing an original score, and acrobats, jugglers, contortionists and aerialists who also act and dance.

The stories are Cambodian. Some are funny and light, some deal with war, poverty, migration or the pull between village life and the modern city. You do not need to speak Khmer: the shows are built to be understood through movement, music and expression, and a short introduction sets the scene.

The big top is intimate. Nobody sits far from the ring, so you see the sweat, the concentration and the grins when a trick lands. At the end the artists come forward to talk, pose for photos and meet the audience, which is often the moment that stays with people.

The story behind the circus

1. 1980s
   In Site Two, a refugee camp on the Thai border, a French humanitarian, Véronique Decrop, runs drawing classes for children as a form of art therapy. Several of those children later lead the school.
2. 1994
   Nine young men return home from the camps and found Phare Ponleu Selpak, “the brightness of the arts”, in Battambang. Some sources give 1995. It starts with drawing classes and grows into visual arts, music, theatre and circus.
3. 2000s
   The circus school gains an international reputation. Graduates go on to work with companies abroad, and Phare troupes tour festivals overseas.
4. 2013
   Phare Performing Social Enterprise is set up to create paid work for graduates and income for the school. Phare, The Cambodian Circus opens its big top in Siem Reap.
5. 2023
   The production White Gold is named a New York Times Critic’s Pick during a run in New York.
6. Today
   The Battambang association runs a public school, alternative education and vocational arts training. According to Phare, more than 1,200 pupils attend its public school each day.

The Siem Reap circus is the business arm of that school. The artists you watch are paid professionals, most of them graduates of the Battambang training centre, and part of what you spend goes back to education there. It is a model worth supporting and it is run with care.

The shows in rotation

Only one show is performed each night, and the programme rotates. Every production is different in tone, so it is worth checking the calendar on the official site and picking the one that suits your group. The current repertoire includes these:

The line-up changes over time, so confirm what is on for your date when you book.

Show times, tickets and seating

Prices are from the official Phare website in September 2026. Confirm them when you book, as they can change between seasons.

Photos. Photography and short video clips are allowed, but flash is not. It distracts the performers and can be dangerous during aerial and balancing acts.

How to plan the evening

1. 6:30 pm Tuk-tuk from your hotel or the Old Market, 10 to 20 minutes
2. 6:45 pm Dinner at the Phare café, which serves Khmer dishes such as fish amok, or street-food stalls on site
3. 7:30 pm Find your seat and watch the pre-show atmosphere build
4. 8:00 pm Show, about an hour
5. 9:00 pm Meet the artists, then back to town or on to Pub Street for a drink

It fits neatly at the end of a temple day. If you watched sunrise at Angkor Wat, the early-evening matinee in high season is a kind option for tired children.

Is it suitable for children? Yes. The shows are family-friendly and there are no animals. Some productions, though, deal with serious subjects such as war and loss, so choose the lighter shows for young children.

How to get there

The big top stands on the Ring Road just south of Sok San Road, on the western side of Siem Reap. It is about 2 kilometres from the Old Market and Pub Street, so 10 to 20 minutes by tuk-tuk. A tuk-tuk each way usually costs a few dollars, and drivers wait outside after the show. Grab and PassApp also work in Siem Reap.

Phare does not provide transport. Parts of the Ring Road and Sok San Road are unlit, so we do not recommend walking or cycling back late at night.

Phare in Battambang

If your trip takes you to Battambang, you can also see the students at Phare Ponleu Selpak itself. Shows there are performed by current students on the school campus, usually on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7:00 pm. Adult tickets cost $16 and children aged 5 to 11 pay $9. Confirm the schedule directly with the school.

It is rawer than the Siem Reap show and all the more touching for it. Pair it with the bat caves at Phnom Sampeau for a memorable Battambang day. In Siem Reap, Phare works well alongside a morning at Artisans Angkor, another social enterprise training young Cambodians, and an evening stroll through the night markets and Pub Street.