A high-octane spree of physical virtuosity, Backbone tests the limits of strength: physical, emotional, individual and collective.
Staged with a deceptively DIY aesthetic and dispensing of trickery and distraction, this is circus that goes straight for the jugular and leaves no viewer unmoved. Backbone is the culmination of all that's gone before: a celebration of human connectedness and the meaning of strength, its athletic appeal is run through with a conceptual brilliance that elevates it to a new level.
Sexy but sincere, raw yet utterly disciplined, Backbone is proof you can't do the impossible without spending a little sweat.
A complex performance that wouldn’t be out of place on the world stage.
A glorious flow of action and reaction … The acrobatics are eloquent and sensational, full of original twists that spell out a new language.
Magnetic world premiere, a perfect combination of fluidity, mettle and danger … The sheer strength of body and character needed to round out this frenzied performance demonstrates a discipline and camaraderie, rarely seen on stage. Simply a joy to watch.
Circus, as you’ve never seen it before, pushed to its conceptual and cerebral limits. A genre-defying, thought-provoking, visual extravaganza … so intensely beautiful it makes you proud to be human.
The Making of Backbone
Sticks & Stones is a documentary series made by Carnival Cinema about GOM’s history and the making of Backbone. Watch It Here
Credits
Director: Darcy Grant
Set & Lighting Designer: Geoff Cobham
Creative Associate: Triton Tunis-Mitchell
Composers & Musicians: Elliot Zoerner & Shenton Gregory find the soundtrack here
Creative Ensemble: Jacob Randell, Jascha Boyce, Lachlan Binns, Mieke Lizotte, Lewie West, Martin Schreiber, Joanne Curry, Lachlan Harper, Lewis Rankin, Jackson Manson
Current Ensemble: Alyssa Moore, Annalise Moore, Axel Osborne, Benton Adams-Walker, Jackson Manson, Jacob Randell, Jordan Hart, Kevin Beverley, Lachlan Harper, Megan Giesbrecht, Nick Martyn, Sonja Schebeck
Show Information
Show Duration: 80 minutes
Audience Suitability: General
Stage Size: Min 12m wide x 10m depth / Height clearance of 7m to grid
Venue: Designed for proscenium arch theatres with 600+ capacity
Complete description, touring budget, and technical specifications supplied on request.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival and Melbourne Festival.
Touring History
- Adelaide Festival - Adelaide, Australia
- Ruhrfestspiele - Theater Marl - Marl, Germany
- CirkUFF - Trutnov, Czech Republic
- Noorderzon Festival - Groningen, Netherlands
- Melbourne Festival - Melbourne Australia
- Sydney Festival - Sydney, Australia
- Brisbane Powerhouse - Brisbane, Australia
- Middleback Arts Centre - Whyalla, Australia
- Sploleto Festival - Charleston, SC, USA
- PERPLX - Kortrijk, Belgium
- Wiltz Festival - Luxembourg
- Jatka78 - Prague, Czech Republic
- Sibiu International Theatre Festival - Sibiu, Romania
- Theaterhaus Stuttgart - Stuttgart, Germany
- Galway Arts Festival - Galway, Ireland
- Montreal Completement Cirque - Montreal, Canada
- Southbank Centre - London, UK
- Autostadt Summer Festival - Wolfsburg, Germany
- Trafo - Budapest, Hungary
- Cirq C-mine - Genk, Belgium
- CC Den Amer - Diest, Belgium
- Theatre Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands
- The Mals – Theater Sochaux - Montbéliard, France
- Stadsschouwburg - Utrecht, Netherlands
- Schouwburg De Lawei - Drachten, Netherlands
- Park Theatre - Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Rabobank Theater Hall - Amersfoort, Netherlands
- Cultuur Centrum Beveren - Beveren, Belgium
- Cultuurcentrum Aalst - Aalst, Belgium
- De Spil - Roeselare - Roeselare, Belgium
- Zwaneberg - Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium
- De Warande - Turnhout, Belgium
- CINARS Biennale - Montreal, Canada
- Vancouver Playhouse Theatre - Vancouver, Canada
- Cirque Noël - Graz, Austria
- Nolia City Konferens - Piteå, Sweden
- Tonhallen - Sundsvall, Sweden
- Konserthusteatern - Karlskrona, Sweden
- Auckland Festival - Auckland, New Zealand
- Borås Stadsteater - Borås, Sweden
- Kungsbacka Teater - Kungsbacka, Sweden
- Stora Teatern - Göteborg, Sweden
- Vara Konserthus - Vara, Sweden
- Stadsteatern - Skövde, Sweden
- Medborgarhuset - Säffle, Sweden
- Storsjöteatern - Östersund, Sweden
- Folkets Hus - Umeå, Sweden
- Cirko Festival - Helsinki, Finland
- Brighton Festival - Brighton UK
- Uijeongbu Music Theatre Festival - Uijeongbu, South Korea
- Gwangmyeong Citizen's Hall - Gwangmyeong, South Korea
- Anyang Arts Centre - Anyang, South Korea
- Busan Cultural Center - Busan, South Korea
- Sesc Pinheiros - São Paulo, Brazil
- Grec Festival - Barcelona, Spain
- Royal Theater Carré - Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Edinburgh, Scotland
- Tollhaus - Karlsruhe, Germany
- Stadsschouwburg Zaal - Haarlem, Netherlands
- Theater de Veste - Delft, Netherlands
- The Broad Stage - Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Irvine Barclay Theatre - Irvine, CA, USA
- Memorial Auditorium - Stanford, CA, USA
- La Comète Scène Nationale - Châlons-en-Champagne, France
- Keyano College Theatre & Arts Centre - Fort McMurray, AB, Canada
- Dow Centennial Centre, Shell Theatre - Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada
- Camrose Performing Arts Centre - Camrose, AB, Canada
- EA Rawlinson Centre - Prince Albert, SK, Canada
- Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre - Medicine Hat, BA, Canada
- Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre - Vernon, BC, Canada
- La Villette - Paris, France
- Théâtre Beausobre - Morges, Switzerland
- Centre Culturel Juliobona - Lillebonne, France
- Théâtre - Fos sur Mer, France
- Théâtre le Forum - Fréjus, France
- Le Radiant Bellevue - Caluire et Cuire, France
- Nouvelle Scène Nationale - Cergy, France
- La Scène Nationale - Mâcon, France
- The Playhouse - Fredericton, NB, Canada
- Imperial Theatre - Saint John, NB, Canada
- Théâtre Lionel-Groulx - St.Therese, QC, Canada
- Festspielhaus - St.Pölten, Austria
- Winterfest - Salzburg, Austria
- BALTOPPEN Live - Ballerup, Denmark
- Le Volcan - Grande salle - Le Havre, France
- Theatre De Rungis - Rungis, France
- Noisy le Grand, France
- Theéâtre DE L’Allegria - Plessis Robinson, France
- L'espace 93 - Clichy sous Bois, France
- Théâtre de Cusset - Cusset, France
- Semaphore Cebazat - Cébazat, France
- TEAT ile de La Réunion - Saint-Denis, Réunion
- Théâtre de Nîmes - Nîmes, France
- Odyssud Blagnac - Blagnac, France
- Le Pôle - Mont de Marsan, France
- Gare Du Midi - Biarritz, France
- Le Pin Galant - Mérignac, France
- Maison de la Danse - Lyon, France
- Grand Théâtre de Provence - Aix-en-Provence, France
- Drammen - Drammen, Norway
- Bærum Kulturhus - Bærum, Norway
- Ibsenhuset - Skien, Norway
- Nøtterøy Kulturhus - Nøtterøy, Norway
- Arendal Kulturhus - Arendal, Norway
- Moss Kulturhus - Moss, Norway
- Larvik - Larvik, Norway
- Stavanger Konserthus - Stavanger, Norway
- Haugesund Konserthus - Haugesund, Norway
- Carré Léon Gaumont - Saint Maxime, France
- August 15 - 21Theaterhaus Stuttgart - Stuttgart, Germany
- August 26 - 27Freedom Festival - Hull, UK
- August 31 - September 1Festival Cultura Nova - Heerlen, Netherlands
- September 8 - 11Baltoppen Live - Ballerup, Denmark
- September 16 - 18Dusseldorf Festival - Dusseldorf, Germany
- October 13 - 15The Playhouse - Canberra, ACT, Australia
- October 18Ian MacIntosh Theatre - Bathurst, NSW, Australia
- October 22The Art House - Wyong, NSW, Australia
- October 25 - 26Newcastle Civic Theatre - Newcastle, NSW, Australia
- October 29Manning Entertainment Centre - Taree, NSW, Australia
- October 31 - November 1Glasshouse - Pt Macquarie, NSW, Australia
- November 9 - 10Ulumbarra Theatre - Bendigo, VIC, Australia
- November 12Frankston Arts Centre - Frankston, VIC, Australia
- January 14Les Fuseaux - Saint-Dizier, France
- January 17 - 19Maison da la Culture de Grenoble - Grenoble, France
- January 21Room Léon Curral - Sallanches, France
- January 24 - 25TANDEM Scène nationale / Hippodrome de Douai - Douai, France
- January 29Equilibre-Nuithonie - Fribourg, Switzerland
- January 31 - 1Chateau Rouge - Annemasse, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
- February 3 - 4Romain Rolland Theater - Villejuif, Île-de-France
- February 7Théâtre Charles Dullin - Le Grand-Quevilly, France
- February 9Espace Malraux - Joué-lès-Tours, France
- February 11Carré Belle-Feuille - Boulogne-Billancourt, France
- February 15 - 16Palais des Beaux Arts de Charleroi - Charleroi, Belgium
- September 30 - October 1The Museum of Art - Kochi, Japan
- March 1Théâtre de Poissy - Poissy, France
- March 2La Lanterne - Rambouillet, France
- March 5 - 6Le Cratère | Scène nationale d’Ales - Alès, France
- March 8L'arc scène national Le Creusot - Le Creusot, France
- March 9Les Scènes du Jura - Dole, France
- March 12L'Ain, Aragon Cultural Center - Oyonnax, France
- March 14 - 16La Coursive - La Rochelle, France
- March 19MAIRIE DE LANESTER - Lanester, France
- March 20 - 21Le Grand R - La Roche sur Yon, France
- March 22 - 23Le Théâtre de Laval - Laval, France
- March 26Théâtre Jacques Carat - Cachan, France