Love-Song-Circus – Katie Noonan and Circa
The powers of music and circus combine to explore an untold part of Australian history.
Overview
Ethereal-voiced songstress Katie Noonan and Brisbane dance-circus troupe Circa will soon treat Sydney to Love-Song-Circus.
A show inspired by and devoted to the gutsiness of Australia’s first female convicts, it tells tales of love, longing, hardship and survival from a period where traditionally only men’s stories got a look-in. With the highly versatile Noonan on piano and vocals, a folk-infused string quartet and a troupe of aerial acrobats directed by Circa’s own Yaron Lifschitz, it’s a night guaranteed to delight both your visual and aural senses.
Love-Song-Circus is written and composed by Noonan, who got the initial idea from a museum exhibition of engraved love tokens made by convicts for their left-behind loved ones. Inspired to research the period, she poured over the letters and records concerning women’s stories in particular. “As a woman and a mother I felt deeply compelled to explore these stories," she says, "and I soon discovered that the life of the first female convicts is a part of our history that has been explored by few.”
The show premiered in Adelaide and has been well received so far (in fact it’s been described as “searing”, “transporting” and “spell-binding"). It’s on for an exclusive two nights only in the acoustically generous City Recital Hall.