SEARCHLIGHT

As Dreams are Made On
Circa and Bell Shakespeare

Venue: Piano Bar
When: Thu 1 Mar 09:30 AM - 10:15 AM
Genre: Physical Theatre / Circus / Puppetry
Main Audience: Adults (18+)
No. in touring party: 11

As Dreams are Made On

Nature and civilisation. Language and physical existence. Love and error. Sin and forgiveness. Magic and the everyday. Earth and wind. Fire and water. Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a storm of opposites, yearning for and ultimately achieving a state of profound balance, renunciation and peace.

In Circa and Bell Shakespeare’s As Dreams are Made On these oppositions form the basis of a poetic exploration of The Tempest. This is not the story, it is the inner life of the play made physical and pushed to extremes. The work emerges from the performer’s bodies. They hurl themselves through seas of wind, fly through the air and balance precariously on each other. Circa’s abstracted and physical approach is strengthened by the dramaturgical support of Bell Shakespeare.

Bell Shakespeare strives to illustrate that Shakespeare and the classical canon are not an end in themselves, but a means by which we can explore our most heartfelt concerns and aspirations. Circa’s work posits that the human body is, in extremis, emotionally connected, spiritually resonant and deeply affecting. Set against a huge curved cyclorama filled with projections of textures and light, scored for a small ensemble of live musicians and performed by seven multi-skilled acrobats, As Dreams are Made On is a sophisticated theatrical delight.

Circa

In its five current creations touring Australia and the world, Circa has created a contemporary artform from the traditional languages of circus. Alive to improvisation, multimedia and collaborations, the work features startlingly re-imagined circus skills. Under the Artistic Direction of Yaron Lifschitz, Circa has established an international reputation as the most innovative circus on the planet. In 2011, the ensemble of 14 performers and guest artists will perform over 400 shows across 13 countries. Circa has been programmed by major Australian festivals and venues and extensively toured regional Australia. The company runs an impressive workshop program in Brisbane at its studio, in schools, communities, and with partners throughout Queensland and beyond.

Bell Shakespeare

Bell Shakespeare is Australia’s premier producer of Shakespeare and classic works. Under the artistic leadership of highly acclaimed actor/director John Bell and award-winning director Peter Evans, Bell Shakespeare's vision is to create theatre that allows audiences of all walks of life to see themselves reflected and transformed through the prism of great writing. Touring extensively to major and regional arts centres across Australia, the Company is also devoted to training and education and has firmly established itself as Australia’s most influential and significant provider of Shakespeare programmes in schools.

Photo: Youngmo Choe