A court performance? (3)
I believe the answer is:
act
'performance?' is the definition.
(act is a kind of performance)
'a court' is the wordplay.
'court' becomes 'ct'.
'a'+'ct'='ACT'
(Other definitions for act that I've seen before include "Written piece of legislation" , "Do something (on stage?)" , "Ordinance" , "Start of a drama" , "Do something, in a play?" .)