Model Citizens (Circus Oz)

From the moment we see the Big Top jutting out of Birrarung Marr parkland there is a sense that we are about to experience a complete departure from regular life. This feeling only becomes more acute as we pass through the buzzing entrance, past spruikers and popcorn machines, and take our seats.

It would do a disservice to reader and circus to say too much about what happens next, but Circus Oz has famously progressive politics which are proudly worn on their sleeve tattoos, and Model Citizens has a lot more on its mind than cool tricks. The show plays extensively with gender roles and heteronormativity. It touches thoughtfully on the refugee experience and explores Australian hypocrisy through a hilarious, ukulele-led ditty (punchline: "I like diversity, just not in my backyard").

The dialogue - much of which is spoken by Captain Ruin, the show's de facto leader - is incisive and funny. But the performers mostly let their bodies do the talking. And my, what expressive bodies they have!

Model Citizens incorporates elements of musical theatre and dance to offer thoroughly contemporary takes on traditional circus acts. Like some fairly abstract juggling, which is more akin to a contemporary dance piece during which the dancer also happens to be expertly controlling several juggling balls.

Circus Oz has a deliberately ramshackle aesthetic, which creates the exhilarating sense that anything can happen. The show is clearly highly professional, but not over-polished. You will find yourself thinking, "Is that meant to happen? Have they done this before?" Occasionally there is a minor mishap, but they just make the performers seem more human and remind us how impossibly difficult the feats being performed truly are.

If ever you can tear your eyes away from the circus performers, the live band is also thoroughly entertaining. The original soundtrack is impressively diverse, spanning several genres over the course of the night, always perfectly complementing and elevating what's happening onstage. 

At times Model Citizens is overtly political, but mostly in a way that feels playful, rather than preachy. There are gentle jabs at Malcolm Turnbull. There is a sign advertising 'Adani Coal-Fired Chicken'. Circus Oz clearly leans to the left, but even pro-coal, anti-equality circus-goers shouldn't find it too alienating. Most of the digs at contemporary Australia are affectionate, rather than condemnatory. The show skilfully raises questions, without jamming answers down our throats or being too didactic.

If you want to dig really deep, you could say simply having a diverse group of people being so cooperative and supportive of one another is political. That may be going too far, but it's an undeniably profound thing to witness. You will probably come away feeling fat and untalented, yet completely inspired and newly assured of human beings' ability to do great things. Strangely, it may even make you proud to be Australian (whatever that means).

Circus Oz presents Model Citizens until 16 Jul at the Big Top, Birrarung Marr.