Circus Oz to Present CURIOSITY by Dislocate in October

As the Melba Spiegeltent settles into her permanent location at the Circus Oz headquarters in Collingwood, Circus Oz will present day time performances ofCuriosity by Dislocate from 17 - 24 October 2015.

Circus Oz Programming Director Matt Hughes said that the glass-panelled doors of the Melba Spiegeltent will be opened during the day, "It is a great opportunity to transform and expand circus experiences for families by performing in this venue, reaching out and sharing the thrill of circus with younger audiences."

An energetic, wonderfully warm, family-friendly-adventure show with original song and dance, Curiosity is a theatrical collision between Dr Seuss, Circus Oz and Alice in Wonderland.

Curiosity is inventive and imaginative physical theatre that uses circus to create young Alex's adventure in the land of Curiosity - a magical place that can be reached only through a tunnel in the bottom of her toy box.

Through aerial and acrobatic feats including tissu, chair balancing, stilts, knock about acrobatics and ladder routines, reality shifts as Alex explores her new world where she meets some very strange characters reminiscent of Dorothy's companions in The Wizard of Oz.

Dislocate Artistic Director Kate Fryer explained that she loves taking children on a journey into a world where anything is possible, "The world of Curiosity is strange and the characters are surreal ... to an adult. Young audiences just accept this world. Of course characters can have two heads or fall from great heights. Why wouldn't they? Children don't want to know how we do our circus acts and tricks - they watch the characters and the stunts happen before their eyes, so they must be real. No questions asked."

Founded by Kate Fryer and Geoff Dunstan (a past Circus Oz performer and rigger), Dislocate is one of Australia's leading independent theatre ensembles creating risk-taking physical performances and breaking boundaries by combining highly skilled circus feats with contemporary narratives. Dislocate recently participated in the Circus Oz Sidesault program to develop and rehearse If These Walls Could Talk (2015 Helpmann Award nomination for Best Visual or Physical Theatre).

Dislocate has held audiences spellbound on the street, in theatres, in the air and will now transform the Melba Spiegeltent to the imaginative land of Curiosity through theatre, circus and a little bit of magic.

Photo by Rob Blackburn