French-Vietnamese Circus Makes Sydney Opera House Debut

Sydney Tuesday 5 February, 2019. This June, ground-breaking contemporary circus troupe Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam will make their Opera House debut in the Joan Sutherland Theatre for the Sydney premiere of L ng Ph .

Loosely translated to mean 'from village to city', this production from critically-acclaimed French-Vietnamese company explores the urbanisation of a once-rural agrarian society through impressive acrobatic stunts, authentic props and traditional folk music.

Set in a small farming village, the performance eschews the extravagance of traditional circus with performers navigating an intricate set constructed entirely of bamboo and rattan. Woven through the production is a theatrical narrative on the gradual disappearance of farm life and the widening division between generations. In the absence of spoken language, a dazzling array of aerial work, contortion and juggling is performed against a soundscape of traditional Vietnamese instruments mixed with hip-hop beats to deliver a unique and dazzling blend of genres fusing physical theatre, dance and live music.

Directed by Cirque du Soleil alumnus Tuan Le, and featuring a dynamic cast of 15 acrobats and five musicians, the Sydney premiere of L ng Ph follows a sell-out season at Perth International Arts Festival in 2017.

Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance, Olivia Ansell says: I am delighted to bring Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam's unique physical theatre and circus production which juxtaposes Vietnam's rich traditional culture with Hanoi's bustling metropolis to the Opera House stage. Tuan Le's L ng Ph is a dynamic and humorous spectacle, full of youthful joy and theatrical brilliance. Prepare to witness the transformation of a quiet hamlet into a modern and tumultuous city through a stunning mix of circus skills, acrobatics, live music and beat boxing.

Vietnamese-born Tuan Le began his circus career as a professional juggler before moving to Russia to study ballet. In 2009 he joined Cirque du Soleil as a solo artist and later worked as Head Choreographer on the 2015 production Toruk, inspired by James Cameron's landmark film Avatar. He founded Nouveau Cirque du Vietnam with co-artistic director Lan Maurice Nguyen and Nguyen's brother Nhat Ly, the company's music director. Combining their international circus experience, the childhood friends now base themselves in Vietnam to present artistic interpretations of South-East Asian identity and culture.

Contemporary Performance at the Opera House champions modern storytellers, pop-culture visionaries and work that is bold, entertaining and genre-defying. The program presents the best Australian and international productions spanning theatre, contemporary dance, circus, magic, comedy, musicals and cabaret. It has featured Hannah Gadsby's comedy phenomenon Nanette, the Australian premiere screening of cult Netflix series Stranger Things 2, award-winning musicals such as Assassins and American Idiot, boundary-breaking Hot Brown Honey, Ballet Preljocaj's contemporary retelling of Snow White and Jakop Ahlbom's chilling production of Horror. Up next is Strut & Fret's Blanc de Blanc Encore and Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt's 'punk-vaudeville' band Nancy And Beth.