What a Circus!

They lived colourful, restless lives. They were known as jugglers, travellers, enfants de la route. In the Middle Ages, circus performers weren’t exactly highly regarded. “Take your laundry down, the comedians are coming!” resounded in villages and small towns for many a year. It wasn’t until the 19th century that circus was finally recognised as an artform combining elements of theatre, dance, music, pantomime and acrobatics.

Circus works especially well out in streets – open spaces filled with hustle and bustle and open to all city residents. It’s no surprise, then, that the 32nd ULICA Street Theatre Festival (4-7 July) explores the intertwining worlds of circus and street theatre, their common roots and shared inspirations. During the four-day carnival, the most beautiful squares and streets of Kraków becomes stages for over thirty theatres from Poland and abroad, including France, Belgium, Germany and Ukraine.

The ancient roots of circus arts are explored by the Kiev Street Theatre “Highlights”, Lviv_kiy Theatre, bringing their spectacle Clowning Exposure, filled with magic, tricks and equilibristic performances, to the Jana Nowaka-Jeziorańskiego Square in front of Galeria Krakowska shopping centre. KTO Theatre recalls two spectacles: the nostalgic The Fragrance of Time and the unsettling Peregrinus. At the Main Market Square, the team of Belgian tightrope walkers Lyapunov – stability in motion shows off their airborne, breathtaking Luchtbrug (Aerial Bridge), while the French duo Cie Concordance brings their spectacle Bug n’Buzz to the Vis-à-vis Café. The circus tent at the Szczepański Square hosts clowns and puppeteers with their performances and workshops for kids. The festival closes with the outdoor spectacle Parade of Entertainers at the Main Market Square.

(Justyna Skalska, “Karnet” magazine)

PROGRAMME HERE.