New-age circus thrills

THE skills of the circus are pushed to extremes in Circa, a new style of show created by Yaron Lifschitz that opens at the Malthouse in Southbank this week.

Seven performers – four men and three women – present daredevil displays and unfettered acrobatics in a 75-minute show.

Lifschitz, the Brisbane-based artistic director and CEO of the performing company Circa, premiered Circa in 2009 and toured it in Britain, Europe, America and Argentina – and now it is touring around Australia.

“The show is really organic and evolves every year with new routines,” says Lifschitz by phone from London, where he is preparing to stage a production for Britain’s Cultural Olympiad being held as part of the Olympic Games.

“We have lots of things on our plate at the moment. We are lucky to be very busy.”
Last year the company staged 400 shows in 13 countries and has built an impressive reputation around the world.

Asked if Circa is better known overseas than in Australia, Lifschitz says: “That is changing with the current Australian tour, but it was also a deliberate strategy that we chose to invest in overseas performances because we felt that was one of the best ways to become known and respected in Australia.”

Many of Circa’s acts push the boundaries to what he describes as a “safe danger”.

“We are professionals and all ­circus performers take risks with their acts. We are lucky to have a great team working for the company.”

After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Lifschitz worked at the Australian Museum for five years and then became the artistic director of Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus in Brisbane in 2004.

He decided to rebrand it with the more contemporary name of Circa.

“It’s great to see how something that started as an idea has taken off so successfully.”
Lifschitz looks back on his career with lots of pride, as do his Jewish parents who may initially have preferred him to be a doctor.

In an interview on ABC-TV’s Australian Story earlier this year, Lifschitz commented: “Nachas is a Yiddish word, which I translate roughly as ‘the joy your parents experience when you graduate being a doctor’. I can’t give my parents that joy because I’m never going to graduate being a doctor, so being at something like the Sydney Opera House [in January] and being able to perform Circa there in front of my parents was an intensely special experience.”

Circa is at the Merlyn Theatre, Malthouse in Melbourne until June 10. Bookings: www.malthousetheatre.com.au.

REPORT by Danny Gocs

PHOTO of Circa circus routines that push the boundaries.