Arts Centre Melbourne Presents WOLFGANG'S MAGICAL MUSICAL CIRCUS

The wonderful, wacky and wigged world of classical music's favourite child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be brought to the stage in Circa's exciting new family show Wolfgang's Magical Musical Circus at Arts Centre Melbourne from 2 -12 January 2019.

Featuring Circa's dexterous daredevil artists and a live accordionist, audiences aged three to 103 will have the chance to experience Mozart's irrepressible spirit and vibrant compositions through physical comedy and mischievous antics. Straight from the score and onto the stage, the man known as Mozart appears amid a storm of powder, tumbling and twirling. To those who know him, he is Wolfgang, the dart-playing, pun-loving ratbag but to those who are watching and listening, he is the wigged genius Mozart.

Musical mayhem and movement fuse in the show as Circa reinvents the composer's magical music and adds playful costumes, a cleverly designed set and bicycle acrobatics. The notes are physically lifted off the page as performers bring Mozart's world to life amid a torrent of powder, tumbles and crashes, all under the eccentric swirl of the conductor's baton.

Circa Associate Director Benjamin Knapton says Wolfgang Mozart is "an amazing historical figure for children to engage with because he was a child prodigy."

"He had this child-like nature but was also extremely skilled and had this incredible discipline for playing the piano at the same time," says Knapton.

Circa Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz says adding physical theatre, comedy and acrobatics to Mozart's world "unleashed some energy and effervescence inside the music."

Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the world's leading performance companies. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world - performing in 39 countries to more than one million people. Circa's works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents. Circa features an ensemble of exceptional, multi-skilled circus artists who have been a regular fixture at leading festivals and venues in New York, London, Berlin and Montreal with seasons at Brooklyn Academy Of Music, The Barbican Centre, Les Nuits de Fourvière, Chamäleon Theatre as well as major Australian Festivals. The company continues to push the boundaries of the art form, blurring the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus.

The show is part of Arts Centre Melbourne's 2019 Summer Autumn Families program. Arts Centre Melbourne's year-round Families Program was launched in August 2009 and has grown in reputation to become a highly respected program both in Australia and internationally. Featuring free events, intimate and large-scale performances from some of the world's most respected companies and a diverse range of interactive workshops, the program is much-loved by families from across the state.

Creatives
Created by Yaron Lifschitz with Benjamin Knapton and the Circa Ensemble
Director: Yaron Lifschitz
Associate Director: Benjamin Knapton
Music: Mozart and Quincy Grant
Lighting Designer: Geoff Squires
Technical Director: Jason Organ
Costume Designer: Libby McDonnell
Assistant Costume Designer: Selene Cochrane
Artistic Consultants: Darcy Grant & Scott Wit

Book: artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183