Following its 2021 debut at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Vulcana Circus’ Circus in a Tea Cup is set to return from 5 to 7 December 2024. This season will be presented by QPAC in partnership with Micah Projects and the Brisbane Domestic Violence Service.
Circus in a Tea Cup features 19 female and non-binary performers, both experienced and new to the stage, as they collaboratively craft a contemporary circus piece. Designed as a journey of empowerment, the production is shaped under the direction of Vulcana’s Artistic Director Celia White and Co-Director Alex Mizzen. Drawing from Vulcana’s history of producing transformative performance art, this year’s production centres on themes of resilience and healing.
Participants have been working together for five months in workshops held at Vulcana’s Arts Hub in Morningside, where they’ve honed their circus skills and shared personal experiences. Celia White describes the process as a space for survivors to redefine their stories, fostering connections among participants with similar experiences:
Performers will develop connections with other women who have similar experience of a violence that produces fear, intimidation, manipulation, hurt, humiliation and blame.
Circus in a Tea Cup will assist participants to rebuild trust in others and most importantly, themselves. We want to provide time so they can create something they are proud of and allow them to celebrate their strengths and their recovery.
We hope audiences will feel the lived experience of the performers being expressed in such a strong confident way through movement, imagery, sound and text in a safe and welcoming space created in the Cremorne Theatre
We know that some of our audience will be personally affected by domestic abuse, and we want them to see themselves represented on stage and to feel seen and heard through the performers.
QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas expressed support for Circus in a Tea Cup, acknowledging its transformative impact, sharing:
Productions like this have profound impact and transformative power, and in the last season audiences and performers were visibly moved by the work.
It is a privilege to support such meaningful productions as they are a tangible example of how the performing arts can continue to be a place of solace, safety, and understanding.
The upcoming Circus in a Tea Cup performances will be held at QPAC’s Cremorne Theatre from 5 to 7 December 2024, as part of the centre’s programming for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Tickets can be purchased either via the QPAC Website, or by calling their box office team on 136 246 – for a flat price of $30.00 a seat plus a $7.50 transaction fee per order.
