Circus performers to make a myth of gravity

NEWS RELEASE
26 February 2008

Circus performers to make a myth of gravity

An astonishing circus spectacular, where science fiction collides with hard physics, will soon be making Civic Square look like a gravity-free zone.

Gravity and Other Myths, an outdoor circus show inspired by the stars, begins on Wednesday 5 March for a 10-night season as part of the Meridian Energy Summer City festival.

The show, which features some of New Zealand’s foremost professional circus performers, is sure to leave the crowds gasping at the athleticism and death-defying acts. Performers will swoop, soar and balance high above the ground in a display of celestial characters and heavenly bodies in awe-inspiring orbits.

Entry to the show is by koha, so the crowds will also be amazed by its value for money.

Gravity and Other Myths premiered on Wellington’s waterfront last year. It won the Fringe Festival award for the best performance in the outdoor category, and versions of it have since played to thousands of people at the likes of Akaroa’s French Festival and the World Busking Festival. The 2008 Meridian Energy Summer City season takes the best from the existing show and adds even more thrills.

Event organiser and performer Tom Beauchamp says that Gravity and Other Myths will please existing fans and draw in new ones. “We’re bringing more performers, more drama, more humour and more entertainment. Rehearsals have been going incredibly well and we’re really looking forward to seeing the reactions from the crowds.”

New to the 2008 season is a display by legendary dance company Footnote Dance. They will open each show with a hybrid of contemporary dance and aerial circus, entitled ‘Footnote Fused’. The main show will also feature a new section where performers will wear masks made especially for the show, and a double swinging trapeze routine, which has to be seen to be believed.

Gravity and Other Myths will run from 5 to 9 March at 7.45pm and from 11 to 15 March at 7.15pm. Spectators are encouraged to bring a picnic and a cushion or folding chairs and to make a night of it. Matinee shows will run at 3pm on Saturday 8, Sunday 9 and Saturday 15 March.

Gravity and Other Myths is presented by Fuse Productions and Footnote Dance, with support from Wellington City Council and Creative New Zealand.

ENDS

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