Melbourne Reviews

Cover photo - Rob Blackburn

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Circus Oz always puts on a good show. Thirty years in the business is a lot of performances, which have offered plenty of memorable acts. But audiences who have seen the company repeatedly over the past years would probably agree that even though Oz offer a good performance product, they have, of late, become a recycled show. Acts reappear year after year, sometimes moderately changed (the flying trapeze act transformed from cockatoos to school kids, but essentially the same choreography for several seasons). There’s no denying the merit of the acts, but how long can you milk them to regular home audiences?

With this current thirtieth birthday season, the show truly does feel new. It’s invigorated, creative, well-integrated and still retains that quintessentially larrikin spirit that distinguishes the company. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, a majority of new cast members and one previous cast member, Nicci Wilks, make up the current ensemble. Secondly, there has been time and money for the company to develop new acts in a six-week creative development initiative called The Lab.

The results are fantastic and I would urge old fans who have become jaded by Circus Oz’s lack of freshness to give this season a look-in.

Each performer, new and veteran, is a strong presence. There is not a dud among them! Wilks, who plays a gamut of gum-chewing characters from a Shirley Temple look-alike to a decrepit diva and a buttock-exposing bricklayer, is phenomenal. Her versatility, both character and skill-wise, is a huge asset to the show. Her gum obsession and her constant requests for other characters to hold her “chewy” while she performs make a hilarious tie-through.

But even the newer cast members hold their weight (often literally!) Some are recent graduates of NICA (National Institute of Circus Arts) and all perform like true pros. Ben Lewis’s Chinese strap act, in which he is the Frankenstein monster coming to life by mad scientists metaphorically pulling his strings, cleverly integrates the straps into a narrative scenario. A tango-infused chair balancing act has both Rockie Stone and Paul O’Keeffe walking and balancing atop a continually growing pile of stackable chairs. This type of balancing act is more frequently performed as a solo, so the duet element is a unique twist. Stone then scaling the chairs and climbing onto and performing on a trapeze, with the trapeze inside a giant lampshade, is icing on the cake.

Speaking of Stone, she is one petite dynamo whose contributions to this show shouldn’t be underestimated. I have seen her over the years in other circus ensembles, but she has really now come into her own. A versatile aerialist with a cheeky streak, she’s equally comfortable and expressive with the group dynamics of the pole act and ensemble numbers as she is with her crisp solos. She reminds me of the ferocious Mel Fyfe who isn’t in this show, but for many years has been the company’s strong woman. Stone does not endure bricks bashed over her while holding a backbend pose (Fyfe’s signature routine), but they both possess a raw, rough femininity that suits Oz’s anarchic approach. Watch out for Stone…she’s really hitting her stride.

Even the familiar acts are given a new twist. Contortionist and juggler Sosina Wogayehu is supported by three white tuxedo-clad dancing boys for her Josephine Baker-inspired multiple ball juggling. Founding Oz member Tim Caldwell’s ceiling walk, an old favorite, has a café scenario rather than its usual backstage setting.

Two new acts - a group teeterboard with company in red kangaroo suits and two brickies (Luke Taylor and Wilks) juggling bricks at a bricklayers’ convention, sum up the ethos of Circus Oz. More than many of the other acts, these routines evoke a uniquely Australian context and humour, something that the company has always been famous for. The kangaroo suits, with their padded backs and sides, complete with little joeys that catapult out of pouches, are totally kitschy Australiana and the brickies are truly bogan.

This year’s show abandons the usual fire-filled finale for some thing more downbeat. It’s a low-key duet that plays on characterizations rather than whiz-bang physical feats. This subtle approach works well.

Over the decade that I have watched Circus Oz, my enthusiasm has, at times, waned, but this new show has certainly revived my admiration for and enjoyment of them.

They say thirty is the new twenty. In Oz’s case, thirty is an inspired revival. Let’s hope, with their renewed emphasis on developing new acts and supporting new talent, they are still this fresh and feisty at forty and beyond!


Circus Oz presents
30th Birthday Bash

Venue: Birrarung Marr, Corner Flinders Street & Batman Avenue, Melbourne
Dates: 18 June to 13 July, 2008
Times*: Wednesday @ 1.30pm & 7.30pm; Thursday @ 7.30pm; Friday @ 7.30pm; Saturday @ 1.30pm & 7.30pm; Sunday @ 1.30pm
* Schedule may vary some weeks. Check website for details.
Tickets: Adults $44 - $64; Concession $34 - $54; Kids $24 - $41; Family $112 - $169; Groups over 10 (adults) $31 - $51
Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au | 136 100
Further information: www.circusoz.com