Circus Memories, Article, June 10, 2008

Circus Memories

Comment article by Kate Herbert

June 10, 20008

Published in Herald Sun

I remember laughing and cheering Soapbox Circus at the old Melbourne City Square. My memory tells me it was a show but I think it was probably at an anti-Uranium mining, pro-aboriginal land rights or East Timor protest.

Soapbox, a political circus troupe, was the precursor of Circus Oz. It evolved out of the constantly bubbling and inventive theatre collective, the Australian Performing Group (APG) that was based for years at the Pram Factory (where the Lygon Plaza is now). The acrobatics and juggling were pretty ordinary initially but the music from Mic Conway from Captain Matchbox combined with rowdy, political commitment of the members to make challenging, innovative entertainment.

Excited members of the APG participated in The Great Stumble Forward circus training in Albury. After that the skills of Soapbox Circus developed from simply goofing around to, well, the beginnings of circus acts.

The ratbag Australian style messed with the cheesiness and rigid rules of traditional circus. The sequins were replaced with contemporary costume designs, wacky acts, new comedy and, more significantly, radical left political commentary by MCs such as Jon Hawkes and Robin Laurie.

As they got bigger, more popular, more cash, they exploded into Circus Oz. I witnessed the fading of the APG as the older, original members created splinter performance companies, but Circus was the new art form. Meanwhile, in the 80s at the Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant Collingwood, Vaudeville was alive again.

I was just starting as a stand-up comic when Circus Oz performed at the Last Laugh. I can still feel the wind in my hair as a glossy, muscular trapeze artist flew overhead. I nearly choked on my soup. O.H. S. laws would never allow it today.

I directed street and circus performers in huge community projects, for Moomba street events and in circus productions. Recently, I spent a few years teaching performance to students in the Circus Arts degree. (Yes, there really is a degree in hanging by your toes.)  These gymnasts and acrobatics needed to learn how to perform, engage an audience, inhabit a character and weave their technical skill into an innovative circus act. Being the best athlete does not make entertainment.

I was surrounded by a phenomenal, international array of Circus evacuees who were now trainers or directors. I devised solo and group acts or full circus productions that were then directed and staged by circus directors such as Robin Laurie, one of the founders of Soapbox Circus.

The sheer bravado and brazenness of those scruffy early Soapbox Circus shows created a lively relationship with the audience. In the end, it doesn’t matter how amazing your technique is, you must entertain and communicate with your audience.

There comes a time when all the decorative colour and movement of Cirque du Soleil leaves us cold and we just want them to look at us - and be charming.

By Kate Herbert