Undertone - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

Produced by Black Carnation Productions, Undertone is a circus show that - while presenting some impressive tricks and laughs - also explores the relationship between the body and sound. With a live electronic score, it pushes the boundaries of what circus can be, creating a different show at every performance.

There is a strong physical demand throughout Undertone, which the four performers make seem effortless as they jump through the air, climb on each other and fling their bodies across and under tables. Due to the concentration and focus of these tricks, the performers have also included a good dose of clowning throughout. Under the direction of Avan Whaite, this allows them to break the tension so the audience can breathe calmly and invite us to create a bond with them. 

Undertone - Melbourne Fringe Festival preview

Circus artist and choreographer Avan Whaite, is bringing his unique circus style to the Melbourne Fringe Festival this year with Undertone. This award-winning show reinvents the idea of what circus can be, with its use of live triggering creating soundscapes from the performance itself. This interactive process allows for Undertone - and its performers - to create a unique performance for every show.


"I came by the idea through some conversations I had with a couple of people who were making music using a program called Ableton Live, which is a software music sequencer and digital audio workstation. After thinking about it, I realised that the real-time functions of this program were perfect for integrating with physical performance, which always has an element of unpredictability," Whaite explains. "When I spoke to Zoltan Fesco, our musical director, he immediately resonated with the concept and had a number of suggestions of how to realise it. His prior experience with experimental electronic instruments was invaluable and the process of putting it all together is ongoing, so it is a constant learning experience between the artists and Zoltan."

The Classics preview

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."

Limbo review - Melbourne Festival

Presented as part of the Melbourne Festival, Limbo is an exhilarating blend of circus, acrobatics and cabaret that will have audiences speechless and leave them wanting much much more. With a strong nod to the 1920s and performed in a spiegeltent, Limbo transports its audience into a seedy underworld of no barriers or rules, a place where everyone can come and play no matter what your tastes and likes may be.

Its international cast ensures that they have the best of the best in its skilled performers including fire-breather sword-swallower Heather Holliday who at one point literally has the stage in flames and the near-impossible contortionist act by Tigris. Other highlights include Danic Abishev's hand-balancing act and Mikael Bres' Chinese pole act, which left audiences gasping throughout.

Absinthe review

In 2013, I had the good fortune of working front of house when Spiegelword brought its show Empire to Melbourne’s Crown Casino. I was able to repeatedly watch a variety of world-class artists performing in some highly skillful and often death-defying acts, which also proved to be an exhilarating experience for audience members. Fast forward three years and Spiegelworld have returned their spiegeltent to the Crown Casino rooftop with Absinthe.

Inspired by cabarets of late-19th century Europe, Absinthe is a variety of burlesque, circus, song and dance that will appeal to everyone. Given the theme of the show and the physique and strengths of the performers, there is also quite a bit of flesh on display and plenty of sexual innuendo and some not so subtle sexual humour by the hosts, The Gazillionaire and his sidekick Penny Pibbets.

Close to the Bone review | Circus Oz | The Melba Spiegeltent

When I go to the circus I often can’t help feeling like a child again as I watch in awe, wonderment and envy at the acts on display. Fortunately for me, these feelings continue to be felt at the Melba Spiegeltent with the current show from Circus Oz, Close To The Bone.

The first thing you notice upon entering is the surprising size of the Spiegeltent. It’s a small and intimate space, which works well from an audience member perspective because no matter where you sit, you can more or less hear the heavy breathing of the performers, see the sweat dripping down their faces, and really see the strength and flexibility on display. These are highly talented professionals who are pushing themselves to their limits, and possibly even further.