Lucy and the Lost Boy

If you ever imagined running away from home to join the circus as a kid, there is now no need for such measures. In fact, you can stay put and gain a university degree in circus arts, right here in Melbourne at the National Institute of Circus Arts. Although, it is not a fancy you can simply take-up on leaving school, as the stunning feats put-on-show in this performance by the institute’s final year students, would surely call for some significant training as a youngster.

But the modern circus has evolved into more than what could be another evening of Australia’s Got Talent. Lucy and the Lost Boy, directed and devised by the impressively experienced Sally Richardson, is a creative event inspired by some of Melbourne’s iconic characters of the city’s infamous street art. Street Artists Urban Cake Lady’s red-hooded young woman with stripy-blue leggings and Vexta’s Flying Boy are two such characters brought to life in a fascinating narrative that serves as a platform for the display of the artists exploits - requiring them to be more than acrobats, but also actors, dancers and comedians.

So intriguing is the imagery that at times you forget that you are watching someone swinging from a rope using little more than the strength of their ankle joint - feats that are somehow fluently interwoven into a story about a young girl who dreams of becoming an artist, runs away from home, clashes with the law and falls in love. It may not sound like the most original account but that does not matter, as the spirit of the story, which is the artist’s determination to express and create despite authorities’ attempts to suppress, shines through.

NICA’s 2012 production is a collaboration of physical and visual art that reaches from the ground to the towering ceiling, making for a multi-level, three-dimensional theatre experience. It’s funny, sad; funky and edgy, with enough restraint that you can take your kids – who may get inspired to run away and join the circus, or better still, finish school and study circus arts at NICA.

Karen Coombs

Photographer: David Wyatt.