Brighton Festival 2013: Circus & Dance

Jaw-dropping acrobatics and stunning choreography from around the world

KNEE DEEP
In the last two decades circus arts have been re-discovered and re-invented to the point that they are now seen as being at the forefront of contemporary theatre arts.

Knee Deep is an inventive piece that blends circus and modern media using traditional and contemporary circus techniques from Brisbane-based company Casus. The four performers explore the boundaries of strength and tenderness – their bodies pushed and pulled, weighed and tested, to probe the limits of both physicality and senses. Unlikely bonds are forged, space is transcended by thrilling physical feats and the audience are invited to re- imagine notions of our limitations.
Casus is Australia’s hottest new circus company featuring artists who have performed with Polytoxic, Legs on the Wall, Briefs Collective and CIRCA – whose eponymous show at Brighton Festival 2011 left audiences awestruck. Knee Deep, their debut production, has blown audiences away throughout Australia and at Edinburgh last year. This intimate show journeys through moments of raw discovery and fleeting relationships as the four artists demonstrate that delicacy need not equate to fragility. Their movement and routines also give new purpose and meaning to objects that are seemingly inanimate.
Tue 14–Sat 18 May, Tue – Fri 7.30pm Sat 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Theatre Royal Brighton

“Many circus shows build towards wow-factor moments, but in this piece you quickly cease to expect triumphant drum rolls because this is a show in which every single minute counts… An awe inspiring show”
Lyn Gardner
The Guardian

Cirkopolis
UK Premiere
Canadian Cirque Éloize dives into a vibrant imaginary world with their latest spectacular. Filled with fun, Cirkopolis is a universe in which reality is challenged by fantasy in the pursuit of our true place in the world. Fleeing a life ruled by boredom; acrobats, aerialists, and spectators alike, are plunged into true audio and visual vertigo in an industrial yet fanciful world inspired by the rich visual legacy of the classic films Metropolis and Brazil.

Positioned at the heart of the renewal of circus arts, Cirque Éloize has been creating moving performances filled with magic since 1993. Continually striving for artistic perfection, it is one of the leaders in contemporary circus arts. Based on the multidisciplinary talents of its artists, Cirque Éloize expresses its innovative nature through theatricality and humanity, and combines circus arts with music, dance and theatre in a path-breaking and original manner. With nine original productions to its credit, Cirque Éloize has presented more than 4,000 performances in over 436 cities and 36 countries. Cirque Éloize has taken part in numerous prestigious international festivals and seduced Broadway with its show Rain.
Mon 6 & Tue 7 May, Mon 3pm & 7.30pm, Tue 7.30pm
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome

SUTRA
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley, Szymon Brzóska – with monks from the Shaolin Temple
Sutra is a collaboration between one of Europe’s most exciting choreographers, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Turner Prize-winning sculptor Antony Gormley and 17 practicing Buddhist monks from the Shaolin Temple in China. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (who is a big Bruce Lee fan) spent several months at the Shaolin Temple before devising his awe- inspiring piece.

Gormley’s set consists of 21 boxes which are moved around by the monks, becoming walls, boats, beds, skyscrapers, temples – whatever is needed.

Shaolin monks see themselves as a conduit for universal energy and transformation. Coupled with the discipline of their ancient martial arts heritage, the monks turn Sutra’s spectacular movement into leaps of faith; dance at its most moving and eloquent.
Fri 10–Sat 11 May, 8pm, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome

Zero
Clod Ensemble World Premiere
Zero is a world where nothing is certain – women can be tigers and men can be snakes. Families, marriages and friendships are laced with sibling rivalries, frustrated desires and murderous ambitions. Heavens open and lives fall apart. Here we are all at the mercy of the stormy weather. At least we can still sing the blues.

Led by choreographer/director Suzy Willson and composer Paul Clark, Clod Ensemble makes performance work that pushes the boundaries between art forms. Recently the company presented their critically acclaimed piece Silver Swan at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

A turbulent mix of dance, music and visual theatre, the performance also features legendary harmonica-playing Bluesman Johnny Mars and trombonist Annie Whitehead who join Paul Clark’s exemplary band of musicians. The band takes to the stage to play a set of original bittersweet songs, with lyrics written by Clark and queer New Yorker Peggy Shaw – “the kitchen walls are bleeding”, “there’s a cow on the rooftop” and “Daddy, how much do you love me” – to create a distinctive, unclassifiable sound that draws on blues, punk, jazz and electronica.
Tue 21 & Wed 22 May, 7.30pm, Post-show discussion Wed 22 May,
Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome