Circa Annual Report 2022

2022 ANNUAL REPORT

Circa is based in Meanjin (Brisbane) on the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal people. We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the many lands on which we create and perform. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

ALWAYS WAS ALWAYS WILL BE

Cover - Photo by Ian Georgeson.

On by Circa - Photo by Pia Johnson.

There’s something almost comforting about walking into a Circa show. Knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, that you’ll be met with high quality circus that sets your pulse racing and your soul stirring.

THE SCOTSMAN, SCOTLAND

TOURED TO 43 COUNTRIES SINCE 2006

682 HOURS OF FREE SPACE FOR ARTISTS

32,002 FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS

23.2K INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS

2,548 TWITTER FOLLOWERS

19K VIMEO PLAYS

40 DAYS, 7 HOURS, 18 MINUTES & 0 SECONDS OF FOOTAGE WATCHED ON CIRCA’S VIMEO CHANNEL

1,576 WEBSITE SESSIONS

1,329 WEBSITE USERS

3,514 WEBSITE PAGE VIEWS

44.82% AUSTRALIAN

55.18% INTERNATIONAL

Photo by Robert Torres.

why 2022?

Every year we write an Annual Report and begins with a message.

Looking back at these, many of these are roughly the same: the world is complex, the challenges are real and increasing, the team is amazing and performs at a herculean pitch daily, the work is authentic and vigorous and the future is uncertain but promises brightness. Nothing much changed in 2022. We continued and resumed touring, we premiered two works of great power and originality, our team delivered astonishing results in chastened and sometimes downright inhospitable circumstances.

So why? Why “has nothing much changed?” Why after the profound disruptions of the past few years and the much greater ones our warming planet and complex civilisation pose for the future, are we still on the same course?

And there are three answers, all connected and all partial, works-in-progress.

First, many game-changing things are already underway: more sustainable, long-form touring with limited flights, long residencies and increased engagement, a First Nation-led permanent, professional ensemble in Regional Queensland, an extensive program for people who identify as having a disability, shows that are lighter, more energy-efficient and tour with a fraction of conventional touring companies are all current.

Second, we have much to do and we started many of these in 2022: the Circa Academy was launched to reenergise our engagement programs and connect them to our core artistic repertoire; new ensemble members, new executive staff, new productions and new programs seek to build more vibrant sector and world.

And finally we are, as a Company, relentless in our pursuit of what is to come. We have plenty more work to do - on our art, our audiences, our engagement, sustainability, diversity and impact. Over the coming years we will continue to strive to redefine the limits of what is possible in circus. 2022 was an important step on this path.

In short, 2022 looks, in wide-shot, a bit like every other year, because each and every Circa year is filled with a passionate belief that we can be better, ask harder questions, take things further (as well as higher, faster and more connected).

We thank the Board, Circa staff, funding agencies, supporters, presenters and stakeholders. Together you have helped us create the same thing - an astonishing, shape-shifting, responsive and dynamic company, one that never stops asking “why?”, one well-positioned to help create the future.

YARON LIFSCHITZ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CEO

MICHAEL LYNCH AO CBE CHAIR SHAUN COMERFORD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Photo by Pia Johnson.

why create?

At the heart of Circa is the creation of new works; each of which asks what is possible in circus? For every new creation, we seek a compelling rationale.

2022 featured two major new creations. Italian Baroque was lush, opulent and decadent. A Fellini-inspired golden-hued celebration of the glamour and art, it was unapologetically baroque. A salve to the grimness of the previous disrupted years.

On by Circa follows eight characters in search of contact and connection. It dives deeply into how abstract acrobatic languages can express human relationships.

ON BY CIRCA

…a

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.

For the Company’s new show, On by Circa, 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.

On By Circa is circus at its contemporary best –as thrilling as it is moving.

A Monash University commission.

WORLD PREMIERE

Performances 14

Audience 6,710

…the ensemble’s extraordinary strength, flexibility, timing, co-ordination and trust in one another thrills and delights

PERFORMED AT

7- 8 April 2022

Melbourne, Australia

Alexander Theatre, Monash University Performing Arts Centres

13 - 14 April 2022

Darwin, Australia

The Playhouse, Darwin Entertainment Centre

7 May 2022

Wyong, Australia

The Art House Theatre

12 May 2022

Geelong, Australia

Costa Hall, Geelong Arts Centre

12 August 2022

Adelaide, Australia

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre

28 October 2022

Cairns, Australia

CPAC Theatre

4 November 2022

Toowoomba, Australia

Empire Theatre

23 - 26 November 2022

Brisbane, Australia

Playhouse, QPAC

stylish, flawlessly executed physical essay on the human need for connection

THE AGE LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE

Photo by Pia Johnson

ITALIAN BAROQUE

A must-see combination of vibrant music and deathdefying acrobatics!

ABC CLASSICS, AUS (On Spanish Baroque with Circa)

Florence, Naples, Venice and Rome. Four remarkable cities, each with its own proud people, distinctive histories and architecture. In its fourth collaboration with the internationally acclaimed contemporary circus company, Circa, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra will take you on a rollicking ride through Italy’s multilayered past. Paul Dyer’s kaleidoscopic pasticcio will be fuelled by the vivacious Brandenburg period instrumentalists and Circa’s energetic acrobats.

The crumbling columns of the Roman Forum and Dante’s flourishing Florence will emerge in a daring new choreography from circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, weaving the music of Vivaldi, Falconieri, Caccini and Corelli into a sensual, surprising and passionate experience, a show that dances to its own unique tune.

PERFORMED AT 19 - 27 January 2022

Sydney, Australia City Recital Hall

WORLD PREMIERE

Performances: 8

Audience: 6,345

Photo by Keith Saunders

Photo by The Other Richard.

why tour?

Touring is a privilege extended to exceptional creations that can find resonance with audiences near and far.

It can be a challenging activity – in circus especially. Balancing bodies, logistics, finances, and opportunities requires both calculus and creativity.

But the rewards are enormous. Performing in great venues and festivals, connecting with audience members across cultures and participating in the great, epochal conversation that is human culture.

In 2022 we toured around Australia, to Europe, the US and the UK. The following pages provide the statistics. What they don’t convey is the herculean efforts of our teams to deliver great show after great show nor can they describe the electricity that flows between stage and auditorium or the elation of the final moments as the lights fade and the audience leap to their feet.

SHAUN THE SHEEP

…plenty of physical comedy, a slick blend of cute animation and live performance, and of course the stylish acrobatics for which Circa is rightly in demand worldwide.

Two worlds gleefully collide when the internationallyacclaimed Australian circus ensemble Circa and Academy Award®-winning studio Aardman, bring Shaun the Sheep to the stage.

Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show combines the extreme physicality and awe-inspiring feats of Circa and the playful charm of the multi-award-winning TV series Shaun the Sheep.

The entire family will be treated to a visual spectacle, packed full of Aardman’s signature wit and outright hilarity, as the Circa ensemble continues to blur the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus. Shaun and the flock will entertain the audience through incredible feats of daredevil acrobatics and vibrant circus skills.

Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show is must-see family entertainment full of heart-warming comedy delights.

Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show is Produced by Shaun Comerford and Yaron Lifschitz with QPAC, Screen Queensland, Merrigong Theatre Company and Circa Contemporary Circus

By special arrangement with Aardman Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show

Created by Yaron Lifschitz

Based on the Television Series “Shaun the Sheep” devised by Richard Starzak

Based on an original idea by Nick Park

PERFORMED AT

5 - 9 January 2022

Melbourne, Australia

Arts Centre Melbourne - Sidney Myer Music Bowl

Performances 3

Audience 2,502

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, AUS

Photo by Prudence Upton

MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES

Under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz and in collaboration with Opéra de Lyon, 11 Circa acrobats, two dancers, two soloists, tango musicians and a string orchestra reimagine the opera Maria de Buenos Aires in a fiery ode to the fatal beauty of tango and its hometown.

Created in 1968 by the undisputed master of tango and bandoneon, Astor Piazzolla, Maria de Buenos Aires is a unique opera-tango that follows the story of Maria, a singer who, after a tragic end in a brothel, becomes a shadow condemned to drift in the lowlands of Buenos Aires. It is a story of curse and redemption, wandering and liberation, brave defiance to death and a hymn to love.

Circa’s adaptation explores the friction between the harshness of the world and the human soul’s thirst for the absolute in this “dream of tango and the tango of a dream.”

PERFORMED AT

15 - 23 January 2022

Lyon

Lyon Opera

Performances 6

Audience 6,397

HUMANS 2.0

A symphony of acrobatics, sound and light, this is next level circus by Circa.

Ten bodies appear in a flash of light. They move in harmony for a fleeting moment and then descend into a sinuous trance. Towers grow and decay, bodies leap and are caught, as physical limits are pushed to their extreme. Can we ever find a perfect balance or is adapting to constant change the only way forward?

This next chapter of Circa’s internationally acclaimed Humans is a tightly woven choreography of bodies, pulsing with music by composer Ori Lichtik and revealed in Paul Jackson’s dramatic lighting. Created by circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, Humans 2.0 is intimate, primal and deeply engaged with the challenge of being human.

Commissioned by The Mondavi Center, UC Davis.

PERFORMED AT

28 January 2022

Davis, USA

Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

17 February 2022

Fairfield, USA

Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University

11 - 12 March 2022

Philadelphia, USA

Annenberg Center, Penn Live Arts

22 - 23 April 2022

Gothenburg, Sweden

Stora Teatern

17 May 2022

Villejuif, France

Théâtre Romain Rolland

5 - 27 August 2022

Edinburgh, Scotland

Underbelly’s Circus Hub, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Performances 28

Audience 15,210

Photo by Yann Merran

Photo by Leslie Martin

SACRE

PERFORMED AT

30 January 2022

Boulder, USA

Macky Auditorium

Concert Hall

2 - 3 February 2022

Irvine, USA

Irvine Barclay Theatre

4 - 5 February 2022

Santa Monica, USA

The Broad Stage

10 - 11 February 2022

Arizona, USA

Centennial Hall, Arizona Arts Live

15 February 2022

Lewisburg, USA

The Weiss Center, Bucknell University

22 February 2022

24 - 28 May 2022

Brighton, UK

Theatre Royal Brighton

15 - 16 June 2022

Den Haag, Netherlands

Amare, Den Haag

Danstheater

2 - 3 July 2022

Sibiu, Romania

Lulu Hall, Sibiu International

Theatre Festival

12 - 13 July 2022

Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

Centro Insular de deportes de Grand Canaria

15 - 16 July 2022

Tenerife, Canary Islands Teatro Guimerá

2 September 2022

Poetic tenderness. Raw emotion. Physical strength.

Ten acrobats from the Circa ensemble bring Stravinsky’s seminal The Rite of Spring to the circus stage. Pulsating with tension and infused with dark humour, this distinctive production from Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz confronts humanity’s inter-connectivity, our inherent sexual desire and relationship with divinity.

Featuring a piercing lighting design by Veronique Benett and a stirring new composition by Phillippe Bachman for the first half, Sacre penetrates the senses and stirs the soul.

Commissioned by Merrigong Theatre Company.

Storrs, USA

Jorgensen Center for the Arts

3 - 4 March 2022

Fayetteville, AR, USA

Walton Arts Center

5 March 2022

Overland Park, USA

Yardley Hall, Midwest Trust Center

14 April 2022

Brugge, Belgium

Cultuurcentrum Brugge

17 April 2022

Budapest, Hungary

Müpa Budapest

3 - 4 May 2022

Chalons-en-Champagne, France

La Comète

20 May 2022

Mamer, Luxembourg

Kinneksbond, Center

Culturel Mamer

Groningen, Netherlands

SPOT Groningen

7 - 9 September 2022

Dusseldorf, Germany

Festival Marquee, Burgplatz

5 October 2022

Modesto, USA

Gallo Center for the Arts

9 October 2022

Sonoma, USA

Weill Hall, Sonoma State University

12 October 2022

Santa Barbara, USA

Campbell Hall, UC Santa Barbara

21 October 2022

Illinois, USA

Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

…will mesmerize you from the very beginning.

BROADWAY WORLD, USA

…consistently fascinating choreography…

MARLER ZEITUNG, GERMANY

Photo by Pedro Greig.

PEEPSHOW

Circa’s Peepshow turns cabaret on its head, literally. Join Circa as they embark on a seductive dance through the hall of mirrors that is your imagination, Circa’s Peepshow lurches from the thrillingly acrobatic to the comically playful. Expect teetering towers of balanced bodies, extreme bending and devilishly precarious aerials.

Circa’s Peepshow combines some of the finest acrobatic talent on the planet under the direction of circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz to create a playfully exhilarating ride into the beautifully bizarre recesses of your mind.

Come to Circa’s Peepshow and see the world from the other side of the mirror.

PERFORMED AT

9 - 12 March 2022

Wollongong, Australia

Spiegeltent Wollongong, Merrigong Theatre Company

20 - 23 April 2022

Sydney, Australia

Theatre Royal Sydney

14 May 2022

Frankston, Australia

Frankston Arts Centre

21 May 2022

Healesville, Australia

The Memo

27 - 28 May 2022

Bendigo, Australia

Ulumbarra Theatre

17 June 2022

Launceston, Australia

Princess Theatre, Theatre North

22 - 24 June 2022

Hobart, Australia

Theatre Royal Main Stage

26 August -

2 September 2022

Sunshine Coast,

Queensland, Australia

The Wonderland

Spiegeltent, Horizon Festival

Performances 25

Audience

6,835

Photo by Andy Phillipson.

... an exciting fusion of circus and cabaret ... Peepshow makes the seemingly impossible, possible.

THEATRE WEEKLY, UK

CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

Is there a more joyous sound than a roomful of children laughing and squealing with delight?

INDAILY, AUS

The Circa Carnival comes to town with whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea, who tumble, fly, leap and spin their way through the many wondrous worlds of the animal kingdom.

Our zebras juggle and flip. Our kangaroos skip and somersault. We’ve elephants with street-cred and rhythm. And even our dinosaur bones shake, clatter and roll to the music.

Carnival of the Animals whisks you away on a thrilling circus escapade inspired by Camille Saint-Saëns delightful salute to feathers, fur and fins. Circa’s acrobats bring this classical music suite to life for a whole new generation of circus, music and animal lovers.

PERFORMED AT

14 - 17 April 2022

Singapore

Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands

29 - 2 June 2022

Brisbane, Australia

Playhouse, QPAC

5 - 28 August 2022

Edinburgh, Scotland

House of Oz, Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Performances 37

Audience 15,992

Photo by Justin Nicolas.

HUMANS

Ten acrobats from award-winning contemporary circus ensemble Circa take us on a stirring journey of what it means to be human and of how our bodies, our connections and our aspirations all form part of who we are.

Exploring the physical limits of their bodies as they are pushed to the extreme they question how much we can take as humans. How much weight can we carry? Who can we trust to support our load? They lead us to reflect on our lives, our loved ones, the burdens we carry and the physical and emotional strength it takes to overcome them.

Created by Yaron Lifschitz, the stage is stripped bare as the vulnerability of a team of highly skilled acrobats is exposed. With incredible strength and integrity they connect each moment seamlessly with the next in a thrilling and heart-stopping performance. Glimpse their humanity as they find redemptive power in strength and celebrate what it means to be fiercely human.

Commissioned by MA scène nationale – Pays de Montbéliard.

PERFORMED AT

19 April 2022

Colombes, France

l’Avant Seine / Théâtre de Colombes

6 - 7 May 2022

Caluire-et-Cuire, France Radiant-Bellevue

10 May 2022

Rueil-Malmaison, France

André Malraux Theater

11 May 2022

Cachan, France

Théâtre Jacques Carat

13 May 2022

Béziers, France

Zinga Zanga Béziers

THE STAGE

3 - 4 June 2022

Trutnov, Czech Republic UFFO, Cirk-UFF

22 - 25 June 2022

Lustenau, Austria Freudenhaus

7 July 2022

Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Teatro Victor Fernández

Gopar (El Salinero)

10 July 2022

Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

Auditorio Insular de Fuerteventura Performances 15 Audience 4,667

This might well be the company’s best work yet.

Photo by Pedro Greig.

WOLFGANG

Straight from the score and onto the stage, the man known as Mozart appears amid a storm of powder, tumbling and twirling, as musical mayhem and movement fuse in this family show with a circus twist.

To those who know him, he is Wolfgang, the dartplaying, pun-loving ratbag. To those who are watching and listening, he is the wigged genius Mozart. Come and discover his irrepressible spirit and vibrant compositions through physical comedy and mischievous antics.

Designed to amaze people from the age of three and upwards, Wolfgang’s Magical Musical Circus reinvents the composer’s magical music in a skilful and illuminating show featuring Circa’s dexterous daredevil artists and an accordionist. Watch as the notes are physically lifted off the page as performers bring the renowned compositions to life amidst a storm of powder, tumbles and crashes, all under the eccentric swirl of the conductor’s baton.

PERFORMED AT

20 - 24 April 2022

Sydney, Australia

Theatre Royal Sydney

22 June 2022

Shepparton, Australia

Riverlinks Eastbank

25 June 2022

Nunawading, Australia

Box Hill Town Hall

27 - 27 June 2022

Frankston, Australia

Frankston Arts Centre

29 June 2022

Bendigo, Australia

Ulumbarra Theatre

8 July 2022

Goulburn, Australia

Goulburn Performing Arts Centre

13 - 1h July 2022

Sydney, Australia

ARA Darling Quarter Theatre

20 - 22 July 2022

Wyong, Australia

The Art House Wyong

24 July 2022

Newcastle, Australia

Civic Theatre Newcastle

Performances 32

Audience 8,867

For circus thrills with a classy, classical touch, ‘Wolfgang’ hits the right notes

THREE WEEKS EDINBURGH, UK

Commissioned by The Art House Wyong.

Photo by Dylan Evans.

BEETHOVEN 9

With Beethoven 9, Circa enters another level.

WHAT WILL HAVE BEEN

With What Will Have Been, Circa proves that circus can combine technicality with elegant simplicity to achieve a rare poetic and moving quality.

Circa dares to create a physical score for the towering masterpiece of the symphonic repertoire –Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

In this first-time collaboration between the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Circa, ten world-class circus artists under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz will present Beethoven’s music in its physical form –with emotionally-charged choreography intricately woven to reflect the score. Extreme skill and dramatic acrobatics play out in this grand celebration of humanity, where the lines between movement, music, dance and theatrics are blurred and boundaries are pushed.

Three artists stretch the boundaries of contemporary circus in this intimate and deeply moving new production by Brisbane-based contemporary circus company Circa.

Hauntingly beautiful and truly virtuosic What Will Have Been is a sublime display of interlocking bodies, awe-inspiring movement and pure physical beauty. Circa’s intrepid artists will challenge your perceptions of what is possible within the human body and draw you deep into a world of physical daring.

Accompanied on stage by a live violinist and fusing together the music of Bach and spine-tingling electronica, this explosive new production is guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings and have you on the edge of your seat.

PERFORMED AT

10th - 11th June 2022

St. Pölten, Austria

Festspielhaus St. Pölten

Performances 2

Audience 1,725

PERFORMED AT

18 June - 2 July 2022

Stockholm, Sweden

Parkteatern, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern

7 - 30 July 2022

Avignon, France

Théâtre des Lucioles

Performances 25

Audience 11,871

MERKER ONLINE, AUSTRIA

LA TERRASSE. FRANCE

Beethoven 9 with Circa was commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020.

Photo by Laura Manatiri.

A Norfolk and Norwich Festival and La Teatreria (Mexico) commission.

Photo by Andy Phillipson.

LEVIATHAN

STANFORDLIVE, USA

Circa’s internationally-renowned ensemble joins with a local cast of circus performers, dancers and young people.

The art of circus is taken in an exciting new direction as 36 performers hang from a grid suspended in the air and propel themselves across the stage, tumbling, balancing and soaring together. The dramatic power and extreme skill of Circa’s trademark acrobatics thrillingly expose the tension between the mass and the individual in this epic theatrical event that is at once deeply moving and physically stunning.

In these complex times, Leviathan offers hope by celebrating what can be achieved when we work together. This action-packed show connects the

local with the global and the emerging with the visionary and genuinely pushes boundaries in a powerful circus production.

PERFORMED AT

30 September - 1 October 2022

California, USA

Stanford Memorial Auditorium

Performances 2

Audience 2,872

Photo by Johannes Reinhart.

Leviathan asks not only its performers to dare to do what has never been done, but all of us as a community.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc, Brisbane Festival, Perth Festival, La Strada Graz Festival and Stanford Live.

Photo by Christina Bevilacquia.

Circa Cairns

In July 2022, Circa established Circa Cairns in response to our commitment to elevate First Nations voices and stories. Based in Regional Far North Queensland, Circa Cairns is one of few First Nations-led professional circus ensembles, committed to creating great art from the nexus of culture and place. Fuelled by the values to thrill, challenge and connect and led by proud Wakka Wakka man, Harley Mann, the company tells urgent First Nations stories that are created with community on country.

In its first 6 months, Circa Cairns established an Ensemble which included three First Nations artists who spent significant time visiting eight FNQ communities, yarning and developing work. This community engagement culminated in the company’s critically acclaimed premiere production From Old Things.

Circa Cairns is based in Gimuy (Cairns) on the lands of the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people.

A CABARET SOMEWHERE HOT AND STICKY

A Cabaret Somewhere Hot and Sticky is a saucy mix of cabaret and acrobatics, capturing a spectrum of moments between bodies moving and connecting on land and through the air. A steamy mix of cabaret and acrobatics and a non-stop evening of entertainment. Featuring breathtaking circus alongside blak humour, Circa Cairns created a thrilling night out up North. Like feet sticking to a nightclub floor Circa Cairns captures the moment of tension between bodies moving in space and a deep connection to earth and place.

PERFORMED AT

13 August 2022

Cairns, Australia

Bulmba-Ja Arts Centre

WORLD PREMIERE

Performances 1

Audience 89

Photo by Colyn Huber.

FROM OLD THINGS

Circa Cairns does more than spark a newly devised work – From Old Things is a flare bursting with heat.

ARTS HUB

From Old Things is a dramatic encounter between the world’s oldest living culture and Australia’s newest circus company.

The first creation from Circa Cairns stares directly into the heart of tradition – is the past a fire that lights our way and warms our hearts or is it a pile of ashes that holds us back from new futures?

On a striking set featuring a burnt tree, the Circa Cairns ensemble explore dynamics ranging from rebellion to respect in a series of touching acrobatic encounters shot through with moments of humour, playfulness and connection.

Conceived and directed by Circa Cairns Creative Lead Harley Mann (Wakka Wakka) featuring members of the Circa Cairns ensemble, with sound design by Luke Briscoe, From Old Things is utterly fresh and powerfully urgent circus theatre.

In 2022 Circa Cairns was established by Circa as a First Nations-led, Cairns-based contemporary circus ensemble dedicated to creating great circus experiences from the nexus of place and culture.

PERFORMED AT

2- 5 November 2022

Cairns, Australia

Bulmba-Ja Arts Centre

WORLD PREMIERE

Performances 4

Audience 417

Photo by Justin Ma.

Photo by David Kelly.

why engage?

We at Circa recognise our privilege and with it the opportunity and responsibility to create a more inclusive, accessible and equitable world.

In 2022, we remained committed to this mission by offering a diverse range of public classes, workshops, and community performance projects to participants across Queensland and beyond. Our programs are designed to promote access and inclusion, providing pathways for participation in circus that start as early as age two with Circa’s Storytime program, which we established in partnership with Brisbane Powerhouse and the State Library of Queensland as part of their First Five Forever initiative.

In 2022, we continued our partnerships with schools with lower socio-economic status, offering ongoing, weekly circus workshops that expanded beyond circus skills to include improvisation, stagecraft tools, and performance creation. We also deepened our partnership with Yeronga State High School, where we joined its inaugural Arts Academy program, and expanded our partnership with Hymba Yumba Independent School, including the school’s LEAP program of extra-curricular activities.

Our engagement program culminated in a performance by Circa Zoo at the inaugural Arts Magic festival presented by the Springfield City Group, alongside other Brisbane arts organizations.

We undertook a review of our engagement programs and implemented rebranding them as Circa Academy. New programs will be rolled out from January 2023.

DANGER CLUB

Safe things are boring. Danger is fun. And that’s the specialty of circus – the art of danger. With Circa’s Danger Club, take a leap of faith – it’s all about to change.

A group of young people from your community has been gathering in a secret location, seeking the thrill of danger. They’ve been creating in a room with artists from Circa Contemporary Circus – people who live danger every day.

Together they’ve been exploring the very idea of danger and will use it to inspire and challenge you in unexpected, exciting, and amusing ways, when you are granted entry to the Danger Club

PERFORMED AT

4 - 8 July 2022

Frankston, Australia

Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre

Performances 1

Audience 60

Photo by Jess Connell.

PASS BY CIRCA ZOO

Pass will take you on a surreal journey with hula hoops, spinning plates and jaw-dropping acrobatics that will open your heart and make your head spin! Combining joyous tumbling and sublime aerials, Pass is daring and sometimes silly and is sure to make you dizzy.

Created by Mannie Kaydos-Nitis and Alex Mizzen

Performed by the Circa Zoo Ensemble

HELD SPACE

Messy and exhilarating. Vulnerable yet confident. A teenage brain is a complex melting pot of emotions, hormones and defiance.

Join Circa Zoo as they test the physical and emotional boundaries of teenage life.

Held Space explores what it means to slip in and out of new skins, trying on different personalities for size while attempting to discover who they are.

PERFORMED AT 14 October 2022

Springfield

Robelle Domain

Performances 1

Audience 205

PERFORMED AT

1 - 3 December 2022

Brisbane

Judith Wright Centre

Performances 4

Audience 205

Photos by Claire Holland.

Photo by Olivia Williams.

Circability is Circa’s social circus program that provides inclusive circus workshops for people of all ages and abilities. The program was launched in 2022 with the goal of promoting social inclusion and breaking down barriers through the art of circus. Circability offers a range of programs, all of which are designed to promote physical fitness, social connection, and personal growth. Circability’s philosophy centers on the idea that everyone should have access to the benefits of circus, regardless of their background or abilities. By creating an inclusive and supportive environment, they empower participants to develop new skills, build confidence, and form meaningful connections with others.

CIRCA CLASSES

Circa Classes is the training and education arm of Circa. Classes run Monday - Saturday across the Circa studios at the Brisbane Powerhouse Stores and the Judith Wright Arts Centre. Aerials to acro, handstands and tumble, Circa Classes supports the community to learn circus skills, get fit and foster their creativity - all in a safe environment with qualified trainers.

Photo by David Kelly.

Photo by David Kelly.

SCHOOLS & COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

Circa’s workshops aim to maximise student’s potential, developing physical skills whilst increasing capacity for creativity and collaborative learning. Led by Circa Trainers, students are encouraged to explore, create and challenge themselves in a fun, safe and supportive learning environment.

Circa’s workshops are fun and challenging and provide students with tools that help them to achieve both personal and curriculum goals including:

• Links to Australian Curriculum General Capabilities – Personal and Social Capabilities and Critical and Creative Thinking

• Improve physical fitness, coordination, strength, balance

• Create, develop and communicate ideas and concepts

• Encourage safe risk taking, persistence and resilience

• Increase self confidence

• Develop teamwork, cooperation and collaborative learning skills

• Develop creative problem-solving skills

Photo by Robert Torres.

financials 2022

$2.7M

$1.52M

19.4%

supporters our

Circa acknowledges the assistance of the Australian Government through the Australia Council its arts funding and advisory body, and the assistance of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

Circa thanks and acknowledges the following people and organisations for their support:

Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeanette Young PSM, Governor of Queensland

Philippe Bachman

Louise Bezzina

Georgie Black

Torben Brookman

Phil Brown

Miranda Brown

Hon Tony Burke

Patti Burnheim

Sharyn Byrnes

Adrian Collette AM

Cameron Costello

Antonin Coutouly

Charlie Cush

Dominique Delorme

Serge Dorny

Paul Dyer AO

Hon Leeanne Enoch MP

Hon Warren Entsch MP

Hon Trevor Evans MP

Gina Fairfax AC

Tim Fairfax AC

Hon Paul Fletcher MP

Guislaine Foiret

Stephen Foster

Carl Fourmile

Simon Frost

Brigitte Fürle

John Glenn

Tom Gutteridge

Paul Grabowsky

Tania Hall

David Hamilton

Ngaio Harding-Hill

Neal Harvey

Kirsten Herring

Andrew Helmore

Paul Henry

Simon Hinton

Wolfgang Hoffman

Hayley Johnson

John Kotzas AM

David Lieberman

Chris Lorway

Annette Madden

Bob Manning

Shaun the Sheep's Circus Show

Gilles Mattana Shay Minster

Allen Moon

Michelle Morgan

Michael Napthali

Alice Nash

Roz Pappalardo

Jono Perry

Dare Power

Chantal Prudhomme

Destry Puia

Evelyn Richardson

Julie Tanner

Hannah Torrence

Damien Walker

donors our

Diane Wright

Jocelyn and Bruce Wolfe

Vera Smiljanic

Ingrid Costello

Kerry Comerford

Warwick Cavanagh

Carrillo Gantner

Lawrence English

Peter Willadsen

Sandy Correia

Catherine Holmes

Philip Bacon

Photo by Billie Wilson-Coffey.

team our

PATRON

Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeanette Young PSM, Governor of Queensland

BOARD

Michael Lynch AO CBE (Chair)

Ric Roach (Treasurer)

Chris Brady

Kerry Comerford

Alanna Herbst

Anita Heiss AM

Michelle Hyams (resigned 5/5/22)

Ian Walker

Courtney Tuttle (Secretary)

ENSEMBLE

Fran Alvarez

Jon Bonaventura

Holly-Rose Boyer

Rhiannon Cave Walker

Marty Evans

Nancy Luna Gutierrez

Keaton Hentoff-Killian

Samuel Letch

Catherine Beaudet

Laurie Berube

Claire Bindoff

Nathan Boyle

Joanna Curry

Jarred Dewey

Erianthe Akaata

Brax Blackmore

Adelline Bryzak

Amelie Bull

Flynne Cheetham

Madison Cooper

Gerramy Marsden

Hamish McCourty

Alice Muntz

Daniel O’Brien

Kathryn O’Keeffe

Paul O’Keeffe

Kimberley Rossi

Zachery Stephens

GUEST ARTISTS

Nicky Faubert

Lisa Goldsworthy

Scott Grove

Bridie Hooper

Cassia Jamieson

Maneleya Kaydos-Nitis

YOUNG ARTISTS

Sienna Exton

Matilda Fryer

Cristina Gambley

Alicia Kiriona

Olivia Matigian

Anisa Monsour

Lachlan Sukroo

Jarrod Takle

Luke Thomas

Georgia Webb

Billie Wilson-Coffey

Ashley Youren

Christina Zauner

Andrew Sumner

David Trappes

Violetta Van Geyzel

Skip Walker-Milne

Conor Wild

Phoebe Organ

Adeline Saunders

Bobbi Shultz

Harrison Smith

Georgia White

Ally Humphris

Harley Mann

Jillibalu Riley

Crystal Stacey

CIRCA CAIRNS ENSEMBLE

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CEO

Yaron Lifschitz

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR

Danielle Devery (from October 2022)

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Benjamin Knapton

RESIDENT DIRECTORS

Aoife Carry

Laura Hansford (till March 2022)

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND CREATIVE PRODUCER

Geordie Brookman

HEAD OF DESIGN

Libby McDonnell

COSTUME COORDINATOR

Anna Handford

HEAD OF CIRCUS Rowan Heydon-White

HEAD OF ENGAGEMENT

Katherine Duhigg

CIRCA CAIRNS ARTISTIC LEAD

Harley Mann

CIRCA CAIRNS CREATIVE PRODUCER

Rebecca Youdell

STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Shaun Comerford

HEAD OF TOURING

Lisa McCready

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS

Elise Glass

Jodie Roche-Jones

CIRCABILITY PRODUCER

Elizabeth Moore (til October 2022)

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Jason Organ

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mark Carry (til March 2022)

Bryce Holmes (From July 2022)

Laura Patterson (From July 2022)

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR

Luke Laidler

HEAD OF OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION

Courtney Tuttle

ADMINISTRATORS

Laura Coutts (from June 2022)

Julia Batterham (from June to November 2022)

Cate Carter (from Nov)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Danielle Kellie

PROJECT OFFICER

Rose Gamble (Until April 2022)

HEAD OF MARKETING

Bec Grace (to Feb 2022)

MARKETING MANAGER/HEAD OF MARKETING

Jade Fantozzi (from Feb 2022)

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Liv Williams (Until May 2022)

Claire Holland (From July 2022)

HEAD OF FINANCE

Evan Wright (until July 2022)

Renee Fletcher (from August 2022)

SENIOR FINANCE OFFICER

Israt Jahan Tinni

CIRCA CLASSES MANAGER

Manelaya Kaydos-Nitis and Ellie Cox

Photo by Stephanie Pokoj.

CIRCA CLASSES TRAINERS AND TRAINEES

Ellen Cox

Izzy Lawton

Manelaya Kaydos-Nitis

Tallulah Bennetton

Steph Benson

Anisah Collins

Maddi Costello

Christina Goodwin

Bella Gregory

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Richard Aishford

HEAD ELECTRICIAN

Shanon Barclay

RIGGER/TRUCK DRIVER

Jon Blake

VIDEO & AUDIO TECHNICIAN

Joshua Braithwaite

TOUR DIRECTOR

Natasha Budd

WARDROBE COORDINATOR

Emily Busch

TECHNICIAN

Jereon Dacquin

COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER

Jethro Woodward

SCENIC DESIGNER

Dan Potra

Ellen Grow

Zoe Joiner

Abby Kelso

Grace Law

Micheal Maggs

Riley McDonald

Rhys Miller

Alex Mizzen

Anna Murray

CONTRACT STAFF

TRUCK DRIVER

Andrew Dunn

STAGE MANAGER

Yanni Dubler

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Ken Francey

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Andrew ‘Panda’ Haden

CARPENTER

Geraint Holmes-Clark

RIGGER/TRUCK DRIVER

Bruce Jobin

TOUR DIRECTOR

Todd Kilby

GUEST CREATIVES

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Paul Jackson

SOUND DESIGN

Luke Briscoe

GUEST ARTISTS

ACCORDIONIST

Gareth Chin

Sophia O’Connor

Phoebe Organ

Josh Phillips

Jacob Ramis

Amy Stuart

Eve Timmins

Lauren Watson

Alex Wecks-Huck

STAGE MANAGER & SOUND OPERATOR

Pip Loth

LIGHTING TECHNICIAN

Steven May

WARDROBE COORDINATOR

Jade Mulholland

LIGHTING PROGRAMMER

Peter Rubie

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Daniel Sharp

TOUR PRODUCER

Phillipa Sprott

DESIGNER

Damien Bredberg

VIDEOGRAPHER

Derwon Green

VIOLINIST

Lachlan O’Donnell

Photo by Amos Adams.