Circus Delivery! | Vulcana Circus
Image: Zoe Porter
It goes without saying, 2020 was a strange and murky time to be an arts lover. We all were suddenly bereft of all the colour, the movement, the hugs, the human highs that make life joyous, that make life worth living. For those of us that spend approximately one third of our lives rolling around in warehouses with other acrobatic fools, those that are most at home on the verandah of a theatre for a post-show debrief aka wine time, those that only truly feel alive as they go through the festival turnstiles, well, we were all a cast adrift with nothing but screentime to fil the aching space in our hearts.
Until Vulcana Circus and Anywhere Festival stepped in to fill the void with Circus Delivery.
Back when Street Serenade was just ‘a twinkle in Brisbane Festival's eye’, Vulcana Circus Artistic Director Celia White envisioned a rolling series of socially distanced performances, right in your driveway, at your very own house. Under the auspices of audience favourites Anywhere Festival (Artistic Director Paul Osuch quoted above), they delivered circus right to the people in their hour of need. And it was just what the lockdown doctor ordered.
Let me paint a picture.
It’s a warm spring day, the warmest yet, and we have laid the table in the garden. We have been to the French bakery and purchased every type of glazed fruit tart. We are wearing velvet, satin, patterns and hats. We have chai. We are ready. Out of no-where, a ute rolls down the street, blaring mad disco and bad ass pop. It peels into the driveway, and two haz-mat besuited lasses quickly rig a stage on the cabin roof and commence a 25-minute rough-and-ready circus show full of thrills and spills, and joyful pranks and tricksy tricks. Hula hooping, hand-standing, comedy of errors and acrobatic tomfoolery was joyfully delivered to a small and admiring household of just four (and some wide-eyed kids peeking over the fence).
Image: Nadia Jade
It. Was. Everything.
After months inside, away from my people, to have a circus garden party was a such pleasure and a treat. We all wore hats. We ate 11 types of cake. We giggled and smiled and pointed and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the cute, hot, funny, stoopid performance by Vulcanista’s Abbey Church and Liv Porter.
What is it about live art that is so enthralling? It lifts the spirits like nothing else. The thousand hours of quality performances over the internet, were nothing to the raucous joy of this 20 minute garden party.
I asked some of the other home delivery audiences to describe their experience, each of whom received a different pair of acrobats at their performances.
Image: Abbie Trott
Abbie said:
“We had the circus delivery one evening in July. It was just after the restrictions had lifted and the first time we had that many people in our yard for a long time. Our delivery arrived and Ernest and Frank arrived and started to measure out the 'COVID safe space' they were to perform in. There were about 20 of us in the audience, some friends, some local community, and we were captivated! They drew us into their journeys through isolation and back into being near and close to each other. Describing with their performance how much touch means to us, and how lonely we are without it. As the sun set, they invited the audience to jump through a heart, sharing their love with us all. For us the performance continued as we shared pictures and comments amongst ourselves for days afterwards, and the smallest among us talked about it for weeks and she continued her circus classes on line.”
Jay said:
“Getting a Vulcana circus delivery for my birthday was a sheer blast of joy, movement, frivolity and humanity. It was just what I needed to feel connected to my community again and it underscored the immense value of performance and art in troubling times.”
Adam said:
“It was a beautifully surreal delivery of out-of-this-world fabulousness in the middle of lock down. It brought an injection of joy to my friend’s birthday. We were all super impressed that the hilarious alien MC who was stuck on the ground floor interacted effortlessly with the astronaut dancers on the 2nd floor balcony.”
Image: Ads J
Image: Abbie Trott
Image: Abbie Trott
Image: Nadia Jade
