Circus Oz: Aurora

Roll up, roll up, Circus Oz’s newest show Aurora portrays a deep and powerful message through a feat of spectacular acts. Head down to the big top in the Royal Botanical Gardens to witness Aurora, the performance showcasing the impacts of global warming and the like on the environment. 

Aurora follows a polar bear’s (Tara Silcock) fight for survival and the struggles she faces trying to live in the destructive world today. Taking the audience on a journey through the Antarctic, the polar bear encounters a range of cute and vicious characters. The story is told through an impressive display of acrobatics including clowning, trapeze, acro dancing, aerial straps, acro balancing and so much more. 

Featuring a range of sugary animals and musical acts, Aurora is a fantastic show for a younger crowd. The beginning of the showcase features a group of flying trapeze penguins to get the crowd riled up and excited for the fun performance to come. Following this, we meet the polar bear with a bright and cheery musical number. A range of acrobatics, balancing and light projections are subsequently followed. 

The cast of brilliant circus performers lit up the stage with their practiced tricks. The breathtaking Washington trapeze of Adam Malone was among the most impressive of the show. Whips and hoops also in his repertoire of techniques proved as crowd favourites. Ropes filled with trash with Sam Aldham, straps with Matty Brown and strong hand balancing from Shani Stephens were dazzling and showcased a variety of talents and strengths. 

The story is told through the creatures and via an array of light tricks on the stage. Although some projections were not up to circus par, the young crowd appreciated every light show trick from cracking ice to cleaning up oil spills. 

The most important aspect of Aurora is the deep and important message of climate change that was portrayed in a creative and tasteful manner. Director Kate Fryer having lost an acrobat the morning of opening night still managed to pull off the performance spectacularly and even made an impromptu cameo. Regardless of having a performer learn the show the morning of, Aurora showcased their professionalism and did not miss a trick or a beat! 

Despite the few setbacks and overall underwhelming aspects of the performance, there is no denying that the popcorn, clowns and acrobatics are always a feat of nostalgia and magic that only the circus can provide. Aurora is a fun and magical journey mainly aimed at a younger crowd but still portraying an important message. 

Circus Oz: Aurora
The Big Top, The Royal Botanic Gardens, South Yarra, 3141
Till Sunday, 6 October 2019
circusoz.com/aurora

Image: Mark Turner