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.

Humans 2.0
10 – 20 November 2021
QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that Queensland had secured the World Premiere season to be held at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in March 2021.

“Thanks to the way Queenslanders have managed the coronavirus pandemic, we’re now able to return to the theatre,” the Premier said. “Today’s announcement is a great win for Queensland, not only for our arts community but also for our economy as we continue to rebuild from the pandemic.

“Shaun the Sheep is a global phenomenon. It’s great to see Circa – one of the state’s most successful performance companies – premiere this show here in Queensland. The arts industry employs thousands of people throughout the state. World class productions like this will help this sector to recover from the impact of COVID-19.”

Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said Shaun the Sheep will be able to play to full houses and engage the young and the young at heart.

“Shaun the Sheep is a family favourite throughout the world and to have this production here is a fantastic win for Queensland,” Ms Enoch said. “The arts, cultural and creative sector plays a crucial role in our COVID-19 recovery, bringing our communities back together and supporting jobs for artists and arts workers. That’s why the Palaszczuk Government is implementing nearly $60 million worth of measures to support the sector through the impacts of COVID-19 including the $22.5 million Arts and Cultural Recovery Package. The Palaszczuk Government will continue to invest in arts and cultural projects to support Queensland’s social and economic recovery.”

Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show is being supported by the Queensland Government through a unique three-way partnership, comprising investment from Screen Queensland, Arts Queensland funding via the Queensland Arts Showcase Program and QPAC as the Presenting Partner. The project has also been made possible by the Federal Government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (Rise) fund.

Trevor Evans MP, Federal Member for Brisbane said, “Circa’s Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show will continue to build Brisbane’s reputation as one of the world’s significant circus cities and I’m very pleased the Morrison Government has lent its support to this new family-focused production. There is no better place for the world premiere to occur than right here in Brisbane. The Federal Government’s RISE Fund is targeted at supporting the reactivation of the arts and entertainment sector which has been hard hit by the pandemic and Circa is leading the way for performing arts organisations.”

Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world – performing in 40 countries to over 1.5 million people. Its work is continually greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents.

Aardman is the Academy Award®-winning UK studio behind Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit, and of course, Shaun the Sheep. The tales of an enterprising Sheep named Shaun and his farmyard pals have been seen in 170 territories worldwide, and has spawned two critically celebrated feature films, a half-hour special and over 170 television episodes. With a second half-hour special in production, set for a 2021 winter release, Shaun the Sheep will continue to entertain a whole new generation of international fans.

Director Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble capture all the sophisticated and challenging elements of Circa’s extreme physicality while embracing the fun, humour and playfulness found in the world of Shaun the Sheep. Scenic Designer Dan Potra and Costume Designer Libby McDonnell have created a new world for Shaun and his flock to inhabit, seamlessly blending the dimensions of animation, stage, film and live acrobatics.

The entire family will be treated to a visual spectacle, with Aardman’s signature Shaun the Sheep animation, combined with live performance from Circa. Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show is packed full of smart wit and outright hilarity, as Circa simultaneously blurs the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus.

Director Yaron Lifschitz commented, “Shaun the Sheep is a playful, rambunctious feast of humour, good spirits and the triumph of the little guy. The medium of circus is a perfect vehicle for bringing these qualities to the stage. Melding the worlds of stage and screen, and incorporating the extreme physicality of circus without losing the emotional depth and charm of the original, is a major creative challenge – it’s the sort of thing we at Circa thrive on.

Circa’s Chair, Michael Lynch AO CBE said, “This ambitious new creation is made possible with partners including Screen Queensland and QPAC, and through the incredible support from the Federal Arts Ministry and Arts Queensland”.

Aardman continues to innovate and inspire as its globally recognised and beloved characters step out beyond the screen, through its impressive portfolio of live experiences, exhibitions and attractions, which allow fans to experience the world of Shaun the Sheep in exciting and interactive ways.

Ngaio Harding-Hill, Head of Attractions and Live Experiences at Aardman, added: “We have always had an ambition to create a Shaun the Sheep circus show. The physicality of circus performance marries perfectly with the slapstick traditions, thrills and humour of the brand. Circa’s creative vision made them the perfect partner to create a Shaun the Sheep Circus show for global audiences. Shaun is already very at home in Australia, so we are thrilled to premiere the show at QPAC.”

Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show
Lyric Theatre, QPAC
From March 2, 2021
www.shaunthesheepcircus.com.au

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.

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. Glimpse their humanity as they find redemptive power in strength and celebrate what it means to be fiercely human.

Circa might just be the most in-demand Australian arts company in the world right now. The company’s reputation for fearless, boundary-pushing new circus is borne out in every one of their shows, which combine physical virtuosity with an expressive humanism.

Circa – Humans
QPAC Playhouse, Brisbane
18-22 November 2020
www.qpac.com.au

Under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz, 36 performers defy gravity as they propel themselves across the stage, tumbling, balancing and soaring together as one.

Exploring the massive and unpredictable energies that are unleashed in a civilisation careening toward an unknown fate, Leviathan offers hope in these complex times. Connecting the local with the global, it celebrates what we can achieve when we work together.

The dramatic power and extreme skill of Circa’s trademark acrobatics thrillingly expose the tension between the mass and the individual in this deeply moving and physically stunning show.

Leviathan
3 – 12 September 2020
Playhouse, QPAC
www.brisbanefestival.com.au

Circa’s Peepshow turns cabaret on its head, literally. Embark on a seductive dance through the hall of mirrors that is your imagination, lurching 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 to create a playfully exhilarating ride into the beautifully bizarre recesses of your mind.

The ultimate date for a hot summer’s night.

Peepshow
QPAC, Brisbane
14-25 January 2020
www.qpac.com.au

Opera Queensland has partnered with internationally renowned contemporary circus company Circa to stage Christoph Gluck’s spellbinding opera from 24 October – 9 November 2019 at Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC’s) Playhouse.

Circa Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz directs the genre-crossing production that combines Gluck’s haunting score and the powerhouse vocals of counter tenor Owen Willetts (Orpheus) and soprano Natalie Christie Peluso (Eurydice) with the virtuosic skills of eight acrobats.

Orpheus and Eurydice is inspired by the ancient Greek myth about Orpheus, the god of music, and his journey to the underworld to save his beloved bride, Eurydice.

On his way he encounters many challenges, including the Furies, whom Orpheus charms into releasing Eurydice on one condition: Orpheus must resist the temptation to look at her on their journey home or he will lose her forever.

Mr Lifschitz said his production skirted the obvious themes of grief and loss and instead spotlighted the concepts of desire and risk.

“I wanted to place the focus squarely on the almost unhealthy limits of desire – do you crave someone enough to risk everything and go into the underworld?” he said.

“I wanted an opera that was fused with that cellular desire, something that drives you from inside, that burns in your cells and doesn’t just sit as an idea on the surface.”

Key to his vision is the intermingling of eight acrobats with opera singers, the Opera Queensland Chorus, the richness of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dane Lam and a video design element where textures, images and words are integrated into the production.

“It’s a really sexy production with bodies doing difficult and dangerous things on that stage and – unlike Orpheus – you are allowed to look,” Mr Lifschitz said.

“It’s sweaty, raw, authentic and beautiful and you get these moments of transcendence even though it’s quite gritty.”

Opera Queensland Artistic Director Patrick Nolan said he and Mr Lifschitz first worked together while they were studying at National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) almost three decades ago.

“Through our friendship I knew of Yaron’s deep knowledge and passion for music and I trusted him to respond deeply to the extraordinary beauty of Gluck’s score. ” Mr Nolan said.

“As a director, Yaron is able to express emotion in a very succinct, powerful way and that’s what you have to do with an opera.

“Opera must embody emotions; an opera singer does that with their voice and an acrobat does that with their physicality.”

Mr Lifschitz said the similarities between opera and circus extended beyond their emotional resonance.

“They’re both artforms of extreme virtuosity and great impact,” he said.

“It was a wonderful challenge and opportunity to bring these two mediums together and Orpheus and Eurydiceproved the perfect vehicle.

“This is an opera with a lot of instrumental music in its score, it’s not wall-to-wall singing and we play with that quite a lot.”

Orpheus and Eurydice is Opera Queensland’s final main stage production for 2019 and presented in association with Circa.

It is sung in Italian with English subtitles and runs for approximately 90 minutes without interval.

Free pre-concert talks are held one hour before each performance except 24 and 31 October and last approximately 25 minutes.

Opera Queensland’s Orpheus & Eurydice
24 October – 9 November 2019
Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
www.oq.com.au

Period music and contemporary acrobatics will again share the stage in a celebrated and popular Helpmann Award-winning partnership between Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Brisbane’s very own contemporary circus ensemble, Circa.

English Baroque with Circa is a part of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s 30th Anniversary celebrations and will dazzle Brisbane audiences on 21 May.

After previously crafting acclaimed shows around French and Spanish music, Brandenburg Artistic Director Paul Dyer and Circa Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz have devised a brand-new show to conceptualise the English Baroque into an explosive and thrilling collision of music and circus.

“Working with Paul is always an amazing adventure,” says Yaron.

“He brings talent and energy and joy to everything he does and his spirit is manifested in the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Ours are always meetings of great delight.”

“On one enchanted night, the worlds of the court, the bedroom, the chapel and the fairground all get bathed in magical moonlight,” Yaron adds.

“Playful, lyrical and rambunctious, the show brings the different worlds of the English Baroque together for a night of beauty and pleasure.”

The musicians will play a pasticcio created by Paul and Yaron that brings together music from 16th and 17th-century England by composers Purcell, Dowland, Corelli and Handel, as well as traditional tunes such as Scarborough Fair and The Garan Mother’s Lullaby.

Appropriately for an anniversary year, another significant and important Brandenburg collaborator returns for English Baroque with Circa .

ARIA Award-nominated soprano Jane Sheldon first sang on the Brandenburg stage as a teenager, having already starred with the Sydney Children’s Choir and released her first album with ABC Classics .

Jane has recently returned to live in Australia after a decade living and working in New York, where The New York Times praised her ‘full-on vocal virtuosity”.

She last sang with the orchestra during its 25th anniversary celebrations.

English Baroque with Circa
QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane
Tuesday 21 May 2019 ay 7:30PM
www.qpac.com.au

Inspired by the shapes and shades of nature’s most beautiful creations, Bloom is a bold and colourful new show from Circa’s youth ensemble, Circa Zoo.

18 young acrobats take to the stage performing remarkable circus feats covering solos, duos and group acrobatics with everything from aerial skills to Chinese pole. Accompanied by live music and original scoring, Bloom is a vivid new work exploring the development and growth of our youth.

Colourful and heart-warming, Bloom is a delightful, inspiring show for the whole family.

So stop, sit back and prepare to smell the roses.

Bloom
JWCOCA Brisbane
13 – 15 December 2018
www.judithwrightcentre.com

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.

Humans
QPAC Brisbane
6 – 9 December 2017
www.qpac.com.au

What if they all landed up in the same room?

What if they couldn’t speak?

What if the room was full of scratched recordings of A Dolls House, Hedda Gabbler and Miss Julie, plus a dash of Freud?

How would they navigate each other, their own pasts and the future?

La Boite and Circa join forces on this new creation. Three masterpieces of turn-of-the-century drama meet the visceral force of extreme acrobatic theatre.

When One Fore Closes at La Boite
Wednesday 06 – Saturday 23 April 2016
Roundhouse Theatre – La Boite
www.laboite.com.au