2026
At Circa, we make circus that seeks to say something about what it means to be human. Our capacity for connection, for chaos, for grace under pressure. It is a striving, an effort to create something worthy of the people who give us their attention, their time, their willingness to be moved. A love letter to a species that is not always easy to like.
This year, that letter travelled far.
Wolf roamed from Berlin to Vancouver to Edinburgh, returning to Chamäleon for an encore season that will howl into the new year. Raw, primal, uncompromising. A show about the untamed thing in all of us. Audiences in packed tents and theatres reminded us of the force of working with courage.
Duck Pond continued its feathered conquest of continents. Quebec City. Pennsylvania. Cairns. Feathers flew. Children gasped. Adults remembered what it felt like to gasp. The work we make for families proved again that “for everyone” does not mean diluted or vague.
In Paris, En Masse filled the Philharmonie with Schubert’s tender songs of loss and the ferocious energy of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Ten acrobats and three musicians exploring what happens when groups fracture and reform, when endings become beginnings.
In Edinburgh, Orpheus and Eurydice played to full houses at the International Festival while, just down the hill, Wolf shook the Fringe. Our most extensive Australian regional tour took work deep into communities across the country.
Our new creations this year focused on classical music. Wolfgang in the Stars brought surrealism, enchantment and space dinosaurs together in a galactic adventure. Daphnis and Chloé celebrated the London Philharmonic with Ravel’s luminous masterpiece. Art of Fugue, created with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, delved deep into Bach’s immortal music. Together, these works grappled courageously with some of the most complex music ever written, bringing bold embodiment and fresh perspective.
Circa Academy, Circability and Circa Cairns delivered year-round programs providing access and opportunity, adding fresh artistic perspectives and new voices. New pathways for new audiences and participants.
As I write, our ensemble is in Manchester for the European premiere of Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show. Aardman’s beloved characters meet our physicality. Wolf plays Berlin. Humans 2.0 closes its year in Taiwan.
An injured pigeon can fly higher than the best acrobat; a snake bends further than any contortionist. Yet it is precisely because we are human that these physical feats acquire dignity. In our limitations lie our possibilities. We are all capable of more.
Looking ahead, in 2026 Christina Zauner will become Circa’s Associate Artistic Director and Daniel O’Brien our Head of Circus. These appointments are central to how we grow and build a lasting legacy.
2026 brings new creations we will soon be announcing, fresh work heading out into the world, thrilling collaborations, and repertoire touring across Australia and beyond.
Thank you to everyone who sat in the dark with us this year and let their eyes fill with wonder.
Thank you to the presenters, funding agencies, and partners who make this possible.
And thank you to this team, extraordinary humans who trust us with their time and effort, and each other with their bodies and their creative lives.
Circus that moves the world. That is what we are aiming for. Some days, we get close. See you in 2026.
Yaron Lifschitz
Artistic Director and CEO