These days, circus is littered with
young, up and coming performers in acts that push the boundaries of what
circus and contemporary circus is. It has become a thriving art form. Batton &
Broadway are one such circus troupe, with a catch; instead of young circus
artists, The Classics is completely comprised of cinquegenarian
(folks in their fifties) performers.
Circus veterans Deb Batton and Sue Broadway share decades of combined experience
in the circus and met when they were teaching Directing Skills for Physical
Theatre and Circus. "Through this we began to wonder what we might do as
performers NOW and to explore what we are as artists and what we have learnt
over the years. Mostly the purpose was to enjoy each other and our audiences
and remind ourselves of how funny we can be," Broadway explains. "The
Classics was in response to demand from both performers and the public. People
wanted to see the legends that they had only heard about perform live, and
older performers wanted a place to strut their stuff again."
Needless to say, the return of The Classics to The Melba
Spiegeltent for a four night run has been highly anticipated. “People who came last year used the words “Joy” and “joyful” a
lot. It is fun, engaging, playful and just a really great night out. It also
challenges people’s ideas of what to expect from older artists. It’s a reminder
of where we came from, but also of where we are going,” she says. “I love doing
the hat juggling routine with Deb because we made it up together, so it has a
real newness and contemporary feel to it. It is who we are now. I also enjoy
doing the Titania Queen of Cups for the exact opposite reason - it has become a
classic in its way.”
Joining the two on stage are acclaimed performers such as Anni Davey, Kathryn
Niesche, Peter Gray, Christof!!, Teresa Blake, Eleanor Tan, Red Hot Flush Ensemble (Vivienne Halat, Catherine McMutrie, Carol Keating, Lynne Regan), Tim
Coldwell and a number of other special guests throughout their season.
Circus has evolved much over the years in every way possible. "When I started out we were inventing the very idea of contemporary
circus. The early days of Circus OZ introduced a new way of looking at the
world of physical performance - political, feminist, no animals and tongue held
firmly in cheek,” Broadway explains. “Since then, circus has built on those
ideas and grown both in terms of the numbers of people interested and the
diversity of options. From small venues to Spiegeltents to theatres - circus is
everywhere!”
So what happens once these cinquegenarians become sexagenarians? “I hope I will
be performing till I die,” explains Broadway. “Particularly if there is sex
involved, but don’t quote me on that!!" Oops, sorry Sue.
Venue: The Melba Spiegeltent, 35 Johnston
St, Collingwood
Season: 9 - 12 December| 8pm
Tickets:
$25 Full | $20 Conc
Bookings: Circus OZ
No comments:
Post a Comment