Wunderkammer
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Wunderkammer

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Circa’s latest show is called Wunderkammer meaning ‘room or cabinet of curiosities’. “We’re the objects in the cabinet,” says Boyle. Wunderkammer, he explains, is inspired by vaudeville and burlesque: its themes involve teasing, flirting, stripping away, revealing and concealing. “We flip through different looks; there are lots of costume changes. One of the motifs is ‘stripping away’.” But, Boyle says, the performers aren’t objectifying themselves. “It’s just us – we’re not pretending to be anyone other than ourselves,” he notes. “We never play a character. The show is a representation of ourselves. We’re encouraged to go with how we’re feeling, if we’re down or moody then we’re encouraged to use our emotions, to use how we’re feeling in our performance.” How does this kind of mutability work in a choreographed piece? “A lot of our work is based in improvisation,” Boyle explains. “Nothing’s set to a time. We have a skeleton show but we have the freedom to change it. We think on our feet.” This flexibility gives the company leeway if someone is injured and can’t perform; the rest of the troupe take over without the show being unduly affected. “We’ve had to re-jig the show in the past,” he notes. “No-one seemed to notice.”

One criticism levelled at Circa’s last Melbourne show (simply called Circa) was the lack of storyline. However, Boyle says there wasn’t meant to be one. “Wunderkammer is similar to Circa like that,” says Boyle. “There isn’t a linear, actor storyline. We make it ambiguous and it’s up the audience to interpret it their way.” According to Boyle audiences will be visually bombarded to begin with by scenes which will throw them out so they won’t know what to expect next. Artistic director Lifschitz comes from an operatic and theatrical background and the creation of unforgettable dramatic imagery is one of Circa’s strengths. His is a collaborative and inclusive creative process, according to Doyle. “He gives us our music and overall themes and motifs. He likes to tell us we’re like an oyster and he’s the sand; he agitates us into something beautiful. One of the beautiful things about Circa is that there is a lot of artistic freedom. Every show’s a bit, different.”

 Circa, which comprises 21 full-time performers in separate ensembles of seven, has performed five different shows this year already. “We’ve had to relearn this performance,” Boyle continues. “This version isn’t the same as the original. There’s a lot of changing things around. The big challenge is getting us all in one room at the same time.”

Circus was a natural choice for Boyle, who always knew he wanted to be on stage but didn’t want to have to talk. As an acrobat, he says he brings dynamic movement to the show. There’s a fair bit of throwing around of other bodies so he has to stay strong. How does he prepare for a show? “We come in three hours before a show and do an hour of stretching,” he answers. “Everyone has their own needs. I am a base and have to do a lot of lifting so I need to make sure my shoulders are strong. We use people’s bodies as weights. We have a list of skills that we are using in the show and we go through that list to see what we need to practice. We’ll do some impro, a group exercise to bring back the group cohesion.” The show’s the thing and Boyle reckons the troupe are highly dedicated to the evolution of the performance. “We rely on everyone’s feedback to make the show better. We all want to keep the show growing, to make sure it’s never stagnant,” he says.

Boyle says that one of the highlights in his career so far was performing in Lyons, France, in a 2000-year-old amphitheatre. “It’s a Roman ruin,” he remembers. “We were performing for about 2000 people. At the end of the show they all jumped to their feet and threw their seat covers at the stage – there was this rain of seat covers.” Last year was constant touring for Boyle, who’s glad to be coming to Melbourne, where he moved to from Sydney to train at NICA, for an extended stay. “I can unpack,” he says. “I can set my things out in the dressing room. Everyone knows someone in Melbourne to have a beer with.” Given that he’s been travelling practically since graduating from NICA, what’s Boyle’s idea of a holiday? “Staying in and watching the discovery channel on TV,” he answers.

BY LIZA DEZFOULI