Circa’s Peepshow: a wild and seductive rollercoaster ride

Published on 06 May 2022

It’s not a stretch to say, you will never see anything else like this! Circa’s Peepshow is a wild and seductive rollercoaster ride that features circus acrobatics, contemporary dance, physical theatre, aerial silks and cabaret all rolled into one.

Australia’s Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the finest circus companies in the world. They have toured forty countries on six continents to great acclaim offering a truly original take on circus. Their innovative physical storytelling draws the audience in and keeps them on the edge of their seats the whole time.

Billie Wilson-Coffey, is part of the ensemble cast in Peepshow. A graduate of the National Institute of Circus Arts, with a specialty in aerial silks, she’s been working in circus since she was eleven years old and performing professionally for 22 years. Billie joined the Circa team in 2011 and has performed in 13 of their shows. She thinks Peepshow is totally unique.

“Peepshow is about different ways of seeing. The first half is pure cabaret. It’s about solo performance. It’s to be looked at. The second half is a deconstructed mirror to be observed. The audience is observing in a more fractured way. It shows the darker side of artistry,” she says.

Part of the spectacle of Circa performances is the incredible precision of movement. It’s hard to believe that a body could move, bend, flex and contort in such ways. Billie says Circa is a uniquely Australian company and a frontrunner in the evolution of circus arts.

One thing Billie loves about Circa is that even though moves have to be timed precisely and in sync with the music, there is still scope for improvisation. Performers use their physicality as the vehicle for theatricality and to carry emotion, but within that, they can still be playful and individual.

An original musical soundscape for the cabaret part of the show by Ori Lichtik combined with innovative lighting by Jason Organ takes the audience into places that activate the imagination and captivate the senses.

Everything about Peepshow will have the audience re-examining the notion that ‘seeing is believing’ because they won’t believe what they are seeing. This is the lure of this show and the reason you need to get out of the house and into the theatre to see it. Your mind will be blown. We guarantee it.

Circa's Peepshow will be performed in the Frankston Arts Centre theatre on Saturday 14 May at 8pm as part of their 2022 Season and the South Side Festival.

ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS