After an award-winning season at Edinburgh Fringe, Casting Off is coming to The Cube Wodonga on May 6 from 7 pm.
It's an all-women, cross-generational show that challenges the conventions of circus and subverts expectations.
Three generations of dynamic women tumble, talk, fly and balance precariously where the personal is political, the furious is funny and the acrobatics are downright dangerous.
It's a disarming, hilarious show about living on the edge and talking about it.
Self-directed, hand-knitted and getting in the way of work, Casting Off is a theatrical circus experience that celebrates thoughtful, strong and resilient individuals.
It's a joyous accumulation of moments that shine a light on women relating to each other in playful, fruitful relationships while flipping, climbing and flying to a soundscape of the many different texts (lists, poems, conversations, melodies, arguments and biographies) that embody each day.
Casting Off is non-narrative circus with words easier said than done.
Melbourne-based company A Good Catch formed in 2017 with the aim of experimenting with circus.
They seek to nurture their own creative voices with a feminist tone and a proactive attitude, reinventing the collective approach to devised performance.
The three extraordinary women at the heart of Casting Off are Debra Batton, 60, Sharon Gruenert, 42, and Spenser Inwood, 30.
Get your tickets here.
Pre- and post-show entertainment will be provided by DJane Doe from 6pm to 7pm, and 8 pm to 9 pm.
Artist bios:
Debra Batton
Debra toured extensively as an acrobat with Circus Oz and was an actor with Magpie Theatre and a dancer with Tracks Dance.
She was artistic director of Legs on the Wall for 10 years.
More recently she was the circus director for the pre-school television series, Hoopla Doopla, artist in residence at The Women's Circus and performance teacher / guest director for the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA). She also currently performs with Batton and Broadway and Such n Such.
Sharon Gruenert
Sharon has flown around and been thrown around for 20 years in the circus.
She was an acrobat in Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco and has performed with many of the iconic contemporary Australian circuses including Circus Oz, Circus Monoxide and Dislocate.
One career highlight was performing on a trapeze hung from a hot air balloon 20 metres in the air as part of Canberra's 100th birthday celebrations.
Spenser Inwood
Spenser trained, performed and toured with the Border's Flying Fruit Fly Circus (FFFC) from the age of eight to become the multi-skilled acrobat and aerialist she is today.
She was assistant director and performer on the FFFC portion of the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony 2006 and was invited by The Women’s Circus to direct What Do I Want in 2013.
From 2013-2017 she was a member of the Circus Oz.