Brisbane-based Circa have travelled the world with their unique dramatic on the circus.
Now they bring their extraordinary skills to the Brighton Festival with a new production that brings together three of the company's greatest works.  
Combining physical beauty, extraordinary circus skills and an immersive use of sound, light and projection - this 'stripped back circus of the heart' was the toast of Edinburgh Fringe 2010. We tracked down Yaron Lifschitz, their creative director, for a chat.

BN1: So what is your pre-production process like? How do the concepts for the shows come about?

YL: We work with an ensemble in a year round capacity. We train skills continually, and then we go through intense creative periods where we explore particular languages, rules and techniques that are important to the concept of the show. We create scenes out of those and create the show from that material.
The concepts originate with me, but the performers and I are engaged in a continuous set of dialogue and conversations about where the work goes and new ideas for scenes. We work very hard to create new material and rework existing acts.

BN1: What’s the most remarkable physical-theatre/circus performance you’ve seen?

YL: I’ve had the benefit of seeing lots of great work, whether it’s the skills of Cirque du Soleil, the humanity of 7 Fingers or the performance ability of James Thierry. But one of the things I love about being an artist and a creator is that
I’m not really in this business because i like other peoples work, I’m fundamentally interested in a set of ideas about the way in which circus can reveal our humanity and our poetic spirit, in which circus is in a sense a force for good in these troubled times. And that’s what I focus on.

BN1: What are the routines your fans can plan on seeing? Is there anything you consider a Circa staples?

YL: They’ll be seeing a lot of dense, intricate and astounding physical acrobatics. The Heel Scene where a woman walks on a man in heels, a range of high level solo acts including straps and hula hoops.
I think all the acts have a Circa-ness to them - a twist or a particular approach. But i think it’s the way that the group functions, and the way they reveal their individuality, their vulnerabilities and their quirks to the audience, through the circus, that is the main staple.

BN1: You‘ve performed all over the world, is there any one place that stands out as being particularly memorable?

YL: There have been so many memorable places, from Screaming selling out enormous theatres in Bogotá, opening major festivals in Europe and Ireland, performing at the Barbican or being the first Australian circus to perform at Le Tohu in Montreal. The world has been full of incredible memorable adventures.

BN1: Do you have a favourite individual performance in the new Circa show?

YL: It’s a bit like asking who my favourite child is. What I love is the individual journey each of our performers is on. Because I work with them all year round, I have the privilege of watching them grow, as people and as performers

BN1: If you were out on the job market and had to put your skills down on a résumé, what would you write?

YL: I don’t know that bald intellectual Jews who run circuses have that much to offer the rest of the world. But I think my skills primarily are: to conceive an artistic vision, to unite a team with outrageous talent around that vision and to strategically place that vision in the world.

BN1: So, if you weren't performing with Circa... what would you be doing?

YL: I’d be trying to create some other avenue to bring my ideas into the world. But I think circus is the perfect fit for me. Not because I’m particularly physical or a good circus performer, but because there is something wonderfully fresh and viscerally powerful about the medium, and its fun and exciting... that makes it a joy. Plus I find plays really boring. As a theatre director by training I’m into things that are just a bit more interesting.

BN1: What advice do you have for aspiring circus performers?

YL: Train really; really hard. Be aware of what you want to do and be the best at it. It’s a really tough competitive world. You only have 10, 15 or 20 years of working as a circus performer. Be precious about your body and the opportunities that you take. Get really great. Get your skills great and get your performance side great. Work with people that you find inspiring and don’t accept anything less than being the best that you can possibly be.

BN1: What’s your favourite music right now?

YL: Music is a feature of all Circa’s productions and finding the right set of tracks usually involves searches over hundreds of albums, from ancient pre-classical music to the very latest electronic works, pop songs and everything else in between.
Right now I’m listening to: Debussy, Hayden, REM, Peter Gabriel and a range of very young contemporary musicians. There is no favourite music, it’s all part of the wonderful conversation that ears have with our cultural history and identity.
I think that music is the most powerful, astounding thing that humans have ever created. But a single piece would be impossible to choose.

BN1: Where do you feel most at home?

YL: There are two places. One is the Quantas club lounge, where people feed me, there’s comfortable chairs and good internet access. They’re the same everywhere you go in the world, so I love that.
I also feel most at home on my deck with my son and the beautiful Brisbane weather which is always a joy to come to.

Circa bring their wondrous acrobatic spectacle to the Theatre Royal on 10th - 14th May.

www.circa.org.au