Duck Pond is a dazzling mash-up of feathers, flips and fairy-tale reinvention. Photo: Damien Bredburg.
If Tchaikovsky wrote Swan Lake after running away to join the circus, it might look a lot like Circa’s Duck Pond.
Circa’s adaptation of the iconic ballet masterpiece, merged with classic children’s tale The Ugly Duckling, comes to Griffith Regional Theatre next week.
Throughout this tale of swans and hapless princes, audiences can expect the gamut of circus shenanigans from jaw-dropping aerials to high-level acrobatics.
The adaptation defies the conventions of Swan Lake, but the classical ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score makes for ideal source material, according to Circa’s resident director Eve Beck.
“Our director Yaron Lifschitz was interested in the theme of identity that was prevalent in both Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling, and the mash-up of those two stories is presented alongside a mash-up of form,” she says.
“It’s primarily circus but also elements of dance and theatre. The combination of all those things creates a really new show that nods to Swan Lake.
“The music producer Jethro Woodward has also done an amazing job of weaving Tchaikovsky’s music throughout but presented in a contemporary fashion.
“So, there are mash-ups of all kinds in the show, and it all works incredibly well.”
Besides, “relentlessly” pushing boundaries is Circa’s hallmark. Positioned at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus, Circa blends movement, dance, theatre and circus in sold-out shows across six continents.
Les Echos described the company’s works as “a revolution in the spectacle of circus”.
Duck Pond is no exception. But while the show has travelled across Canada, the States, Europe and Australian capital cities, regional appearances have been a highlight for the cast and crew.
“As the resident director, I take the show on tour, ensure it looks good and as close to the original as possible in all the different venues, and that the cast and crew are happy and healthy. And they all say one of the great things about performing in Circa is that the same year you perform in London and Paris, you can come to regional theatres back home as well,” Eve says.
“That’s important for us because a lot of artists with the company are from regional parts of the country. It’s lovely performing in front of Australian audiences, and audiences who don’t always have easy access to shows of this calibre.”
Eve says audiences can expect high levels of originality in the 75-minute spectacle of circus, dance, music, theatre and storytelling — and some surprises along the way.
“There’s a big twist in the show, which of course, I won’t give away. But people can expect to be surprised in a lot of ways,” she says.
“One thing I will say is people find it funnier than they expect. It’s moving and heartfelt with a satisfying level of comic relief.
“There’s high flying acrobatics, big group skills and a number of aerial and ground-based solos, moments of theatricality and dance — and a lot of quacking.”
Duck Pond comes to Griffith Regional Theatre on Saturday 18 October — book via the Theatre website.
