Circus Oz is thrilled to announce Smash it! a daring circus spectacle premiering at The Fairfax Studio Arts Centre as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF).
Smash it! is Circus Oz as unbelievable as ever, stripped back, tent-less, dauntless and daring, where sexagenarians, millennials and Gen Z’s unite in chaotic and hilarious harmony.
The energy is relentless, the acts apparently very dangerous, the characters subtle and slightly unhinged. It is everything you hope for and more in a packed hour of family entertainment without any pretensions to be more than a rip-roaring ride through another side of life – the wacky one.
Circus Oz’s shows are made for a multi-generational audience, by a multi-generational cast whose ages span from early twenties to mid-sixties. Supported by the City of Melbourne, Smash it! is directed by the internationally acclaimed actor, director and playwright David Woods (Ridiculusmus, Back To Back Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Malthouse Theatre).
During MICF 2023, Circus Oz delivered a sold out run at The Forum with Non Stop, which received five-star reviews, and was described by Arts Hub as a ‘World Class family-friendly production’, that was ‘visually and aurally spectacular’.
Circus Oz has been running for forty-five years and is looking forward to the next forty-five. Established in 1978, Circus Oz are proud leaders of circus arts in Australia and globally. The Company was founded as a politically progressive ensemble featuring strong women, graceful men, and cranking original live music. The Company is working out of its home in Collingwood, training, developing new work, and rehearsing for its upcoming shows.
“Circus performers delight me with their rigour and daring. Add to that the Circus Oz basement of goodies, the community of care and knowledge around it, and this is pretty much my dream job.” David Woods.
The Smash it! credits are as follows:
Directed and devised by David Woods, with assistant director Nicci Wilks.
Performed and devised by Angelique Ross, Celso March, Debra Batton, Leo Pentland, Mozes Heawood, Sharon Gruenert, Spenser Inwood.
Soundtrack composed and performed by: Carl Polke, Chris Lewis, Sophie Dunn.
Additional credits:
Stage Manager – Stephen Burton
Rigger – Christian Schooneveldt Reid
Costume design – Laurel Frank
Lighting design – Gina Gascoigne
Circus technical advisor – Tim Coldwell
Set, props – Mike Finch
Hero image, Circus Oz background and presser available here. Credit Ben Capp
Circus Oz present Smash it!
28 March – 21 April 2024
Arts Centre Melbourne – Fairfax Studio, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
Tickets: $20-$50. Families: $110
Bookings:
www.comedyfestival.com.au
www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
Circus Oz: Website | Instagram
Full official description of the show:
An irreverent medley of apparently impossible things as acrobats, tumblers, flying, tight rope and slack wire conjure their way into the not so everyday world. Parklife, picnics, faux-antiquity and de-civilization morph into life and spectacularly disintegrate. A new inter-generational troupe of spandex nymphs populate the cracked open world of circus past and present.
Smash it! is Circus Oz as unbelievable as ever, stripped back, tent-less, dauntless and daring. An ensemble of seven circus artists and three musicians blast, rip, smash, fly and tumble into a remarkable present where sexagenarians, millennials and Gen Z’s unite in chaotic and hilarious harmony. There will be water, bats and battiness, candy floss, duck shooting and balloon popping galore. The energy is relentless, the acts apparently very dangerous, the characters subtle and slightly unhinge. It is everything you hope for and more in a packed hour of family entertainment without any pretensions to be more than a rip-roaring ride through another side of life – the wacky one.
