A POWERHOUSE of all-female highflying acrobats is putting women’s issues under the spotlight at Fringe World.
Yuck Circus co-producer Samantha Martin said the show’s 22-year-old creator-director Georgia Deguara presents women using strength, comedy and honesty to confront “yuck” expectations of femininity in young women and contemporary art.
Martin (24) adds weight to the production through her experience at Perth Fringe, a degree in Arts Management from WAAPA and she is about to study a Masters of Fine Arts Cultural Leadership at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts.
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READ NOW“Georgia and I grew up in Perth (attending Iona and PLC respectively) but didn’t meet until last year at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne – the only university in Australia to offer a Bachelor of Circus Art – and both emerged as leaders in our fields.
“Yuck Circus is Georgia’s brainchild, she’s a joy to work and puts women at the forefront of the industry supporting one another. This will be our first work, premiering at Fringe World,” she said.
The full-length absurdist comedy came about after a 15-minute pilot of the show took first place in the 2018 Gaswork’s Circus Showdown.
Deguara said the all-female cast and crew was testament to female mateship.
“We’re putting our collective experiences out there in a bit of a piss-take hoping that everyone will come down for a laugh with us and leave with a chance for reflection,” she said.
The cast use their physical prowess in acrobatics, contortion, aerials and dance as they relay true stories of girls’ nights out gone wrong and the worst pick-up lines ever.
All this and more, while taking a healthy sideswipe at stereotypical beauty standards and conventional circus.
The other members of the troupe are Fremantle’s Ella Norton from Circus WA, Brooke Duckworth, Karla Scott, Emily McDonagh, Abbie Madden and Jessica Smart.
Yuck Circus opens in Circus WA’s Freo Big Top at Freo Royale on January 24 for three nights before heading to the Big Top in the Pleasure Gardens from January 28-February 6.
The Essentials
What: Yuck Circus
When: January 24-February 6
Where: Fremantle/Perth
Tickets: www.fringeworld.com.au