Aurora

It’s no coincidence that Circus Oz launched its new climate-conscious show Aurora on the same day as millions around the world marched through city streets to demand climate action, nor that the gala performance was one night after Melbourne’s hottest September night in 18 years.

It’s not prescience – the show is reacting to the fact we’re experiencing a climate emergency. Inside the Big Top in Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens we were asked to suspend disbelief and be transported to the North Pole. With help from an overhead projector, the Big Top stage was transformed into an icy landscape populated by a number of disgruntled penguins and one sassy polar bear.

The nine-person ensemble, including live musicians Jeremy Hopkins and Selene Messinis, displayed a level of resourcefulness befitting the show’s moral imperative. The props were minimal, the space not enormous, but the journey entirely immersive. The thematic focus didn’t interfere with the classic circus artistry either. Adam Malone’s act, for instance, was a hypnotic spectacle of classic hula hooping, and a late show highlight.

As cracks began to show in the ice, the penguins found their way across with help from a flying trapeze. Our polar bear, Tara Silcock, routinely broke the fourth wall to underline the menace of advanced global warming. Silcock’s mid-show act saw her attempt a grand showtune, only to be interrupted by a seemingly endless stream of plastic vomit – it was an amusing to see from a recognised circus trope, but also emphasised the devastating human impact on the natural world. It was an ominous sign whenever the penguin costumes were abandoned for human clothing, as toxic waste spilled, or performers played game of catch with a fish. 

Aurora is the name of the Roman goddess of dawn, who travelled from east to west announcing the coming of the sun. Circus Oz fulfils a similar role with this show, which, while fun for all ages, is a far cry from pure escapism.