Who is Mitch Jones?
I am a director and physical performer working in circus, sideshow and clowning, and I am the creative director of Oozing Future – an alt-circus company. Our shows are distinctive in their desire to both provoke and entertain – I love to make audiences feel compelling emotions like curiosity, joy, sadness and discomfort, often times all in one performance!
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I have about 70 tattoos too many to get elected to parliament, but I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at bringing people on an inspiring journey with me, and that I would have made a good politician!
Who inspires you and why?
Right now I am watching a lot of contemporary dance to compare how they use their bodies in contrast to circus. I love watching dancers improvise – I find the presence they hold in their forms really inspiring.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Funding the arts properly would go a long way towards improving the cultural life of Australia and increasing our ability to see things from other people’s perspectives. I also have a raft of political changes to make our democratic system fairer and easier for everyday people to access. Getting big money and corporate lobbyists out of parliament would be my number one concern.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Tokyo, Japan. There’s never a dull moment in a city that never sleeps.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
Preston markets! I love the local, authentic melting pot of cultures, foods, and people watching.
What are you currently reading?
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow – an anthropologist and an archeologist talking about why the idea that hierarchy and domination are a naturally occurring feature of human history – is a mistake.
What are you currently listening to?
Romance, the new album by Fontaine D.C.
Happiness is?
An absence of tension.
What does the future hold for you?
Oozing Future premieres our new show Apocrypha in October, which I have directed. After that I go back to work for Cirque Du Soleil, and then do a tour of the east coast with Good Things Festival!
Mitch is the Creator and Director of Apocrypha – which will be presented at the Darebin Arts Centre, as part of the Melbourne Fringe, from 11 – 19 October 2024. For more information, visit: www.arts.darebin.vic.gov.au or www.melbournefringe.com.au for details.
Image: Mitch Jones – photo by 3 Fates Media