A Brief History
Episode 1 of Carnival Cinema’s documentary on the making of Backbone. Watch the rest of the series here.
Who are we?
We're a circus company with roots in Adelaide, Australia. We utilise an honest approach to performance to create work with a focus on human connection and acrobatic virtuosity. Through this, we hope to maintain an exceptional and diverse artistic program. After forming 2009 as a group of young Adelaide artists with a passion for circus and physical theatre, we’ve spent the past 13 years growing steadily and creating six critically acclaimed main stage works.
Our Shows
A Simple Space, our first work, achieved huge international success, receiving multiple awards and having performed close to 1000 times across 34 countries. Our subsequent work, Backbone, has been touring for the past 5 years receiving awards (including 3 Helpmann award nominations) and critical acclaim worldwide. Out Of Chaos… premiered in the 2019 Adelaide Festival, receiving the 2019 Helpmann Award for Best Physical Theatre.
Our most recent creations The Pulse and MACRO are our largest and most ambitious works thus far and probably the largest contemporary circus works in Australian history! These have elevated our artistic profile worldwide.
We’ve been honoured to see the circus industry, wider arts community and audiences worldwide embracing the unique playfulness, honesty and physical mastery in our work.
Alongside our onstage work, we deeply value engaging with both our immediate and wider community through workshops and education. Head to our community and education pages to find out more.
Our Artistic Approach
Our work strives to nurture human connection while challenging the genre of circus through conceptual sophistication and acrobatic virtuosity. We employ an honest approach to performance, illuminating the complexities of humanity through genuinity, humour and physical prowess.
Our predominantly ensemble driven creative process encourages our artists to engage deeply with the work they are inhabiting and allows true investment in and commitment to the company's core values.
As a leader of contemporary circus in Australia, we feel it is our responsibility to continue to challenge circus as an artform.
If you're in a position where you're able to contribute financially to what we do, we always appreciate donations. These donations help us to fund the development of ground breaking shows and to continue to engage with our community in a positive way.
If you'd like to help us out, follow this link to donate. Or get in touch with us via our contact page.
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