Duck Pondby Circa

Feathers will fly when Swan Lake is reimagined as a contemporary circus spectacular and collides with the story of The Ugly Duckling. Two tales of identity and discovery are brought to life with exuberant energy by the Australian performance troupe Circa. Pioneering how extreme physicality can create powerful and moving performances, Circa will sweep you away with sumptuous aerials, jaw-dropping acrobatics, and the touching, utterly entertaining tale about finding your true self. This program is made possible through the generous support of David Primes. 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. Duck Pond is co-commissioned by QPAC and The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, The Art House Wyong, Frankston Arts Centre, HOTA – Home of the Arts, Merrigong Theatre Company and Orange Civic Theatre. Director, Stage Design Yaron Lifschitz Composer and Sound Designer Jethro Woodward Costume Designer Libby McDonnell Lighting Designer Alexander Berlage Associate Director Marty Evans Dramaturg/Associate Choreographer Rani Luther Voice Over Artist Elise Greig Footage of brutal swan fight used with the kind permission of Carl Bovis. Artists’ Representatives Allen Moon / David Lieberman Due to the nature of circus performance, the individuals in the Circa Ensemble are subject to change. A current and accurate list of acrobats involved in the performance will be available closer to the performance date. 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. As CEO and Artistic Director of Circa he has brought circus to the Barbican, string quartets and acrobats to Brooklyn Academy of Music, four years 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 Director of the Australian Museum’s Theatre Unit, he has taught directing at NIDA and ATYP and has directed opera, concerts and events. In 1999 he was the first Artistic Director of Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus which, in 2004, he transformed 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. He describes his creations as “love letters to a species that not always easy to like”. Jethro Woodward is a Melbourne-based composer, musical director, arranger, musician and sound designer recognised for his expansive and highly layered film, theatre and dance scores. A multi Green Room Award winner and Helpmann nominee, he has worked with some of Australia’s leading major and independent companies including; Malthouse Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Victoria, Chamber Made Opera, Back to Back, Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin, Australian Dance Theatre, Aphids, Stuck Pigs Squealing, Rawcus, Kage and more. A composition graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts, Jethro draws upon his detailed understanding of contemporary music and its uses in live performance, including innovative uses of technology, combining live instrumentation with prerecorded, electronic, musical and sound elements into a seamless flexible and responsive score. Jethro regularly tours his work internationally and has won Green Room Awards for his work on; The Bloody Chamber (Malthouse Theatre), Moth (Malthouse Theatre/Arena Theatre), Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd (Malthouse Theatre/Arena Theatre) and Irony Is Not Enough (Fragment 31). As a guitarist and singer, he regularly performs with Meow Meow and Paul Capsis, and has been a member of the band Cordarzine over the past 15 years. He most recently was the composer of Rapture at Sydney Festival 2021, directed by Michael Kantor and starring Paul Capsis and iOTA. Libby McDonnell is a designer, director, and creative lead. As Head of Engagement and Design at Circa, she has designed costumes for over 40 productions, co-directed major works, and led key community programs, including the pilot of Circability. Libby holds a First Class Honours degree from Queensland College of Art and an Associate Degree in Dance from QUT. Her career has moved fluidly between performance, education, touring, and leadership. Libby is known for her clear eye and unwavering belief in the p