Humans 2.0 builds circus through the language of contemporary dance, as ten performers on stage attempt to connect with one another and express emotion through movement. With sculptural physicality reminiscent of Greek statues, they combine rolls, leaps, catches, handstands, human towers, twists, embraces, and aerial feats in intricate variations, pushing their physical limits to the extreme. The choreography unfolds in sequences that are both comic and serious, creating sculptural tableaux that capture moments of beauty and athleticism, telling a simple yet complex story, that is, what it means for us all to be human.

This work is an evolution of Circa's Humans (2017), symbolizing humanity's ongoing progress. Director Yaron LIFSCHITZ focuses the performance on the coordination and mutual support of the ensemble, crafting a striking mise en scene that resembles a symphony for the eyes. To embody the kinetic imagination of "2.0," the show features an electrifying score by Israeli electronic music pioneer and composer Ori LICHTIK, alongside award-winning Australian lighting designer Paul JACKSON, whose dramatic lighting recalls minimalist painting. Costume designer Libby McDONNELL complements these with costumes that can adapt to the energy and tension of the body. Together, they imbue Humans 2.0 with the exhilaration of Gesamtkunstwerk.

Humans 2.0 brings audiences a visceral sense of joy.

  Pre-talk  

12/13(Sat)14:00 Playhouse 2F Lobby

12/14(Sun)14:00 Playhouse 2F Lobby

  Creative and Production Team  

Created by Yaron LIFSCHITZ and the Circa Ensemble

Performed by the Circa Ensemble

Director｜Yaron LIFSCHITZ

Original Music｜Ori LICHTIK

Lighting Designer｜Paul JACKSON

Costume Design｜Libby McDONNELL

Technical Director｜Jason ORGAN

International Representation｜Wolfgang HOFFMANN (Aurora Nova)

  Team Introduction  

Circa

Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the world's leading performance companies. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world - performing in over 45 countries. Circa's works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents.  

Circa is at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus - pioneering how extreme physicality can create powerful and moving performances. It continues to push the boundaries of the art form, blurring the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus. Compelled by the question "what is possible in circus?" Circa is leading the way with a diverse range of thrilling creations that "redraw the limits to which circus can aspire."

Under the direction of circus visionary Yaron LIFSCHITZ, Circa has been a regular fixture at leading festivals and venues in New York, London, Berlin and Montreal with seasons at Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Barbican Centre as well as major Australian Festivals. 

Director｜Yaron LIFSCHITZ

Yaron LIFSCHITZ makes shows. Big ones, small ones, and ones that defy easy categorisation. More than 80 productions have toured across six continents and played to over two million people picking up a shelf's worth of awards including six Helpmanns, The ISPA Distinguished Artist Award and the Australia Council Theatre Award.

He's brought circus to the Barbican, string quartets and acrobats to Brooklyn Academy of Music, a year of performances to Berlin and major shows to major festivals and venues around the world. He’s created strange, beautiful things in tents, concert halls, spiegeltents, and opera houses as well as cemeteries and cathedrals. His film work has appeared at the Berlin and Melbourne Film Festivals.

Yaron was the founding Artistic Director of the Australian Museum's Theatre Unit, he has taught directing at NIDA and ATYP and directed opera, concerts and events. In 1999 he was the first Artistic Director of Rock 'n' Roll Circus and in 2004 he transformed it into Circa. In 2018 he was Creative Lead of Festival 2018, the cultural program of the 21st Commonwealth Games - one of the most ambitious arts events in Queensland's history.

At the heart of Yaron's work is restless curiosity and a fierce belief in the power of performance to connect and transform.

Original Music｜Ori LICHTIK

Musician, member of the artistic crew of L-E-V Dance Company of Sharon EYAL & Gai BEHAR, DJ and drummer.  

LICHTIK is one of the founders of the Tel-Aviv techno scene in the 1990s where he started his career as a DJ and producer of techno parties and raves. Since 2006, LICHTIK has been collaborating with Sharon EYAL and Gai BEHAR as a musician in the artistic team. Rather than composing the soundtracks, LICHTIK performs in L-E-V performances in which he constructs, plays and characterises the music in each performance.

The uniqueness of LICHTIK's work is the combination of the various musical worlds into an evolving and refined soundtrack, full of passion and groove, which alongside the choreography gives the spectator a complete and hypnotic experience. LICHTIK soundtracks are influenced by different styles and textures, from industrial and African tribe recordings, through hip-hop to baroque music. LICHTIK's music is one of the most prominent and unusual hallmarks of Sharon EYAL and Gai BEHAR's dance performances.

Over the years, LICHTIK has created various works for L-E-V, dance companies and opera houses around the world.

LICHTIK has created alongside Sharon & Gai throughout the choreographic process, reflecting off of the dancers' movements, and as often inspiring and prompting them with the tone and pace of his percussive sounds and rhythms.

©David Kelly

©Lesley Martin

Humans 2.0 is commissioned by The Mondavi Center, UC Davis.

Circa acknowledges the assistance of the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.