Space shortage cramping Australia’s circus style

Independent circus artists are being forced to create small-scale works as a result of rehearsing in their lounge rooms and bedrooms.

Casus’ acclaimed production Knee Deep. Image supplied. 

At this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Australian circus companies such as Casus, Briefs, Gravity and Other Myths, and 3 is a Crowd won plaudits and praise from critics and peers alike for the quality and originality of their work. The Daily Mail heralded the arrival of ‘The new Wizards of Oz!’ in a recent article about contemporary Australian circus, while in her review of Casus’ Knee High, respected Guardian critic Lyn Gardner waxed lyrical about a show ‘full of extraordinary skill and brute strength … but also exquisite beauty’.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts