“Circus is intellectual, it’s emotive, it’s moving, it’s artful, it’s musical,” says Flying Fruit Fly Circus’ artistic director Anni Davey. She says she hopes the 2024 Borderville Festival is embraced by the local community. Photo: Daniel Boud.
Roll up, roll up! The annual Borderville Festival is set to dazzle and delight when it is staged in Albury-Wodonga over three weeks from 3 – 20 December.
The Flying Fruit Fly Circus’ 2024 summer program offers jazz, cabaret, visual trickery, daredevil acrobatics, song, dance and music as the 65 members of Australia’s national youth circus showcase the full scope of their talent across a range of performances.
Artistic director Anni Davey says there are opposite ends of the spectrum in this year’s line-up with everything from Arthur Hull’s one-man show Flop through to Mirrored, an act that includes the full ensemble of fruit fly members.
While awe-inspiring entertainment is the objective of the festival, Anni says at its heart is giving the cast exposure to a variety of experiences that will set them up for success when they launch themselves into the circus industry.
“I believe that a circus show is not finished until it’s in front of an audience, because an audience is such an integral part of a performance,” she said.
“You can’t pretend that you are practising performing, or you are training to be a performer, without actually performing in front of people.”
Mirrored is this year’s major outdoor work and has been created by Brisbane’s Casus Creations. Founded by Flying Fruit Fly Circus alumni Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay, alongside Natano Fa’anana, Casus are Borderville’s company-in-residence and will direct the performance which plays with mirrored images and visual trickery.
“What I’m also trying to give my kids is experience in working with different directors’ processes so that they really start to understand the art of circus, not just the art of fruit fly circus, and when they get into the industry they are used to working with different people in different ways,” said Anni.
Mirrored is a spectacular free event in Wodonga’s Gateway Island Amphitheatre and inspired by the mesmerising symmetry of MC Escher’s art. It plays with mirrored images and visual trickery, offering striking visuals that should captivate the imagination of the audience. Photo: Ian Sutherland.
“Borderville is about giving them industry preparation but also the opportunity for their family to come and see them work.”
Anni declares circus should mean a whole lot more than just “fairy floss and food trucks” to the border community.
“Audiences can expect to see really great circus and our community can expect to see the extraordinary things that our community, our kids, are capable of.
“Circus is intellectual, it’s emotive, it’s moving, it’s artful, it’s musical.
“By bringing many and varied contemporary circus works into our community I’m hoping to create a circus literate community, a community that knows about circus and is interested in coming to see it because they understand that it’s not just fairy floss and food trucks.
“I’d like to think we can become a real hub for circus, so that circus companies touring around Australia feel confident programming a few nights in Albury Wodonga and that there is an audience that really, truly watches circus with an educated eye.”
Arthur Hull’s one-man show Flop is his solo debut and presents a funny, engaging love letter to musical theatre failures. Since graduating, Arthur made it all the way to Adam Lambert’s ‘Top 3’ on The Voice Australia and won the two main awards at the Australian National Busking Championships. On its premiere at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in October, Flop received glowing reviews and a Judge’s Pick.
“Arthur is one of our many success stories,” said Anni.
“He is multi-skilled and an example of the many and varied careers that you can pursue coming out of a creative education place like Flying Fruit Fly circus offers.
“After his experience on The Voice he came back feeling like anything is possible and that is so important as a young artist to believe that your dreams can come true, that you can achieve things, because if you never see that those things are possible then you won’t believe in yourself.
“I believe he came back from that a changed person because he has a belief in himself now that he might not have had as a kid who grew up in Barnawatha.
“It’s a great thing for us and it’s a great example for our other students.
“I’m encouraging Arthur to capitalise on his exposure. Get out there while people remember, while people know you because that’s the way to get into the industry, that’s a way to make a mark.”
Now in its 10th year, this year’s program includes six shows, with Mirrored a free event held at the Gateway Village Amphitheatre on 12 – 14 December, Live and Famous, Flop, Swing Style and Synthrotica’s School Disco all being performed in the Borderville Theatre in South Albury and The Circus Arts Showcase held in the training hall. Ticket prices range from $5 to $25 and the full program can be found at Flying Fruit Fly Borderville Festival.
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