From the seemingly inexhaustible creative brain of Circa artistic director Yaron Lifschitz comes another acrobatic thrill ride.
Wolf, created by Lifschitz and the Circle Ensemble, has had an out-of-town try-out, as is often the case with this globetrotting contemporary circus company. It may be based in Brisbane but it is now global, more so than any other Australian performing arts company you care to name.
QPAC and Circa have announced the company would head home to the Playhouse for the Australian premiere of Wolf, November 12 to 15.
Wolf broke box-office records during its seven-month premiere run at Berlin’s Chamäleon Theatre, achieving the highest-grossing season in the venue’s 20-year history. The show comes home to Brisbane following a stint at Edinburgh Fringe.
In 2024 Circa delivered 419 performances in 131 cities across 20 countries. The ensemble that Brisbane audiences will see in Wolf has been touring for the past few months. This year they also performed in Orpheus & Eurydice at Edinburgh International Festival (another triumph in partnership with Opera Queensland) and now Brisbane is the focus again.
You might like
For Lifschitz, the wolf is a symbol of our untameable selves: liberated, anarchic and savage. In two contrasting acts, the wolves evolve from disruptive forces of chaos into a ferocious pack whose intense choreographies overflow with raw energy and astounding physicality.
Clad in designer Libby McDonnell’s form-hugging costumes and set to DJ Ori Lichtik’s relentless primal rhythms, the cast of 10 extraordinary Circa artists grasp, tear, climb, leap and balance with fierce abandon.
Following recent seasons at QPAC including the world premiere of Wolfgang in the Stars for Out of the Box and The Art of Fugue with Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Lifschitz says Wolf brings things back to the essence of Circa.
Subscribe for updates
“It’s been close to five years since we brought a work of this level of acrobatic intensity to a stage in Brisbane and Wolf is incredibly powerful for a number of reasons,” he says. “It is about the primal and the raw, but there’s a duality to this – the way the pack is unified is powerful and empowering, but it’s also threatening, and circus is the perfect vehicle to explore this. Wolf will show audiences Circa in its purest form, and it’s exciting to be doing this at home.”
State Arts John-Paul Langbroek says Wolf will give Australian audiences an opportunity to see why the acclaimed Queensland company is making waves internationally.
“Circa has built a reputation as one of the world’s leading performing arts companies, captivating audiences around the globe with innovative and exciting performances,” says Langbroek. “I am delighted the company is back at QPAC with the Australian premiere of Wolf, providing Queensland audiences and visitors to the state with the opportunity to see this thrilling, masterful work. The (State) Government is proud to invest in QPAC and Circa supporting our 10-year arts and cultural strategy Queensland’s Time to Shine by delivering transformational arts experiences and strengthening our state‘s reputation as a thriving cultural destination.”
The way things are going,we may be looking at Circa for the opening ceremony of Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They will almost certainly feature as part of the Cultural Olympiad leading up to the games. Lifschitz has form in this area,having been the creative lead for creative lead for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Let’s see what happens. In the meantime, we have another Circa show to look forward to. How do they do it? I really can’t say but they keep coming up with exciting new material from some deep well of crazy creativity and all we can do is sit back and go … wow!
Circa Wolf, Playhouse, QPAC, November 12-15.