Circa is delighted to announce that following its Melbourne Premiere at the Alexander Theatre – The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, Monash on Thursday 7 April, the company’s new creation On by Circa will tour nationally.
Over the past two decades, Circa has forged a reputation as the most artistically audacious circus on the planet. With productions ranging from large scale operas and vast choreographic spectacles through site specific adventures and intimate chamber works, the breadth of its vision is unparalleled. Three years in the making, On by Circa is a Monash University commission.
For the Company’s new 2022 show, Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz explores the gift of weight that lies at the heart of acrobatics. The simple act of giving and accepting another’s mass is transformed into a profound meditation about beauty, loss and trust.
To achieve this alchemy, the stage elements are reduced to their most essential: seven extraordinary acrobats, a score by Melbourne composer Jethro Woodward and a striking lighting design by Paul Jackson.
Layering complex acrobatic sequences with sharp moments of close-up intimacy, the ensemble creates a stripped back circus of the heart that’s uncompromisingly bold and unashamedly athletic.
“The axis of encounter is integral to this new work. After two years of distancing, On by Circa explores physical connection, relationships and touch,” said Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz.
“Rather than complex architecture, it is a performance stripped back to our most essential ingredients – bodies, light and sound in the service of ideas that create powerful emotions.
“Infused with a fierce humanity and exceptional circus skills, On by Circa is about encountering risk knowing that you will be caught, held and lifted.”
In 2021 Circa was the first Australian major performing arts company to tour internationally. Yaron Lifschitz started 2022 in France directing María de Buenos Aires in collaboration with Opéra de Lyon and visited the US for the first time in two years for performances of Sacre and Humans 2.0. He is now back in the studio creating On by Circa at the company’s home base in Brisbane.
Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the world’s leading performance companies. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has pioneered a daring new vision of contemporary circus that combines extreme physicality, music, theatre and acrobatics into a mesmerising spectacle of movement and expression.
The company have performed at the world’s leading venues and festivals, with seasons at places like the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and London’s Barbican Centre as well as major Australian festivals – thrilling over 1.5 million people in 40 countries to date.
Their works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents, leading their majestic productions to be hailed as a “masterpiece of circus arts” (La Presse, Montreal), “astonishing physical mastery” (New York Times), and “a revolution in the spectacle of circus” (Les Echos, France).
Creators: Yaron Lifschitz with the Circa Ensemble | Director: Yaron Lifschitz | Featuring: Holly-Rose Boyer, Rhiannon Cave Walker, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Bridie Hooper, Gerramy Marsden, Paul O’Keeffe, Lachlan Sukroo, Billie Wilson-Coffey | Composer and Sound Designer: Jethro Woodward | Costume Designer: Libby McDonnell | Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson
ON by Circa
Alexander Theatre – The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, Monash University, Clayton
Performances: 7 & 8 April 2022
Bookings: www.monash.edu
Following its Melbourne season, ON by Circa will be presented at the Darwin Entertainment Centre (13 – 14 April); Queensland Performing Arts Centre (26 – 30 April); The Art House Theatre, Wyong (7 May); Geelong Arts Centre (12 May); and Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide (11 – 12 August). For more information, visit: www.circa.org.au for details.
Image: ON by Circa – photo by David Kelly