Burnout Paradise at WOW Festival 2025 at UC San Diego

Four performers mount their treadmills, and the challenge begins. Burnout Paradise tests the limits of mind, body, and spirit in an increasingly frenetic juggling act of absurdity. A delusional love letter to the reckless labor and euphoric optimism before burnout, demonstrating that the system isn’t designed for us: it’s designed to break us.

Australia’s Pony Cam evokes the recklessness, euphoria, and optimism that comes before burnout. What begins as a simple wager between performer and audience becomes a desperate and hilarious attempt to complete a series of escalating tasks that challenge the performers’ bodies, spirits, and minds. This is not an endurance feat. Nor is it performance art. It is a spirited realization that overachievement is no mere spectator sport. It relies on the kindness of strangers.

“One of the most frenetically uproarious shows of gloriously demented ecstasy.” – Time Out

“Magnificently chaotic, breathlessly frenetic fun” – THE SCOTSMAN

“A truly exceptional theatrical experience” – BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE