Circus Oz: Wunderage

So you’ve heard of immersive theatre – but have you heard of immersive circus? Well, step right up because Circus Oz is here to show you all the wonders of this new style of circus performance. 

When you step onto Meat Market’s cobblestones, the temporary home to Wunderage, you step into a different realm – a popcorn-scented one at that. Bonnie Stewart’s eerie voice, along with Grant Arthur on the piano are first to welcome you and ease you in a world that, you will soon learn, defies the laws of physics. The entrancing music continues to play a major role throughout the show, almost as a narrative thread that highlights the playfulness, drama, emotion and grand feats of the performers.

Wunderage is a collaboration between Company2 and Circus Oz, and is Circus Oz artistic director Rob Tannion’s last with the company, built as a parting gift with its bubbles of joy and notes of sweet melancholy.

Wunderage smartly uses the covered, cavernous hall of North Melbourne’s Meat Market to its advantage by building an immersive experience. Audience members literally step onto the stages, wander (and wonder!) from one tightrope installation to the next, guided, as if in a dream, by the lights, music and performers. You’ll never be as close to circus performers as you will in this show. 

From bikes to hoops and human towers, the performances themselves range from high-energy acrobatics to careful tightrope crossings that are quite literally en pointe – and they all defy gravity! 

There are no barriers and no seats for the audience – except for those who really need to sit down. If you, or someone you’re with has low mobility, the team working at the show are super helpful, and go the extra mile to make sure you can always see, taking the time to direct you to the best seats so you can get the most out of the experience. 

Wunderage is a great night out for both kids and adults and is on at the Meat Market every night from now until Sunday, 30 June. One thing you realise watching the troupe of 8 performing Wunderage is that gravity, after all, is not as serious of a thing!

Circus Oz: Wunderage
Till Sunday, 30 June 2019
Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne
circusoz.com/wunderage