Circus Oz

Circus Oz are larrikin pioneers of contemporary circus. With self-crafted performances of wit, grace, spectacle, satire Circus Oz has injected an eclectic mix of original live music, social comment and popular theatre to the well-loved skills and tricks of traditional circus.

Circus Oz was founded in late 1977 as an amalgamation of two already successful Australian groups, Soapbox Circus and the New Circus. The principles at the heart of the original Circus Oz are still reflected i today: collective ownership and creation, gender equity, a uniquely Australian signature and team-work.

The founding members of Circus Oz loved the skills and tricks of traditional circus but wanted to make a new sort of show that a contemporary audience could relate to, adding elements of rock'n'roll, popular theatre and satire. They wanted it to be funny, irreverent and spectacular, a celebration of the group as a bunch of multi-skilled individual women and men, rather than a hierarchy of stars. Above all, they didn't want to take themselves too seriously.  

Circus Oz has performed in 26 different countries, across five continents to over two million people. They have broken box office records at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and represented Australia at scores of international festivals. They have performed on 42nd Street, at the Tivoli Gardens, in a refugee camp in the West Bank, in indigenous communities in the Australian desert and in a glass opera house in the Brazilian rainforest. Along the way they have translated parts of the show into scores of languages from Hindi and Japanese to Danish.

Circus Oz is a client of the Australia Council for the Arts' major performing arts board.