Another triumph for Circus Oz

Another triumph for Circus Oz

Circus Oz 1993

Artistic direction by Sue Broadway

Musical composition by Irene Vela

Costume design by Laurel Frank

Reviewed by Margarita Windisch

Circus Oz, believed by many to be the world's leading contemporary circus, has done it again. Its 1993 show is a curious blend of different traditions. It adds new twists to old arts and replaces convention with wackiness and gutsy fun.

Many of the acts in the show are new. Even those that have been part of the Circus Oz repertoire seem better coordinated, more complex and performed with a total sense of perfection.

There is no division into stars and supporting cast: the acrobats play music, the musicians hang from ropes, the riggers form human pyramids, the tumblers act and actors tumble. The ring transforms into a symbol for creative collaboration that celebrates the strength of ensemble work rather than a bunch of single acts.

The fire juggling, tumbling and balancing are precise, refined and interpreted in Circus Oz's own brand of outrageous, irreverent Australian humour. Acrobatic skills are combined with musical talent quite out of this world and fantastic costumes, woven into bizarre stories that could go on forever.

The audience gets treated to the completely unexpected; everything from Sam Poo the balancing Chinese bushranger, to Circus Oz's own version of a Roman gladiator.

Circus Oz will be under the big top in Melbourne's City Square until May 2, then touring Latin America before Alice Springs, Arnhem Land, north Queensland and northern NSW.

From GLW issue 97