Chamäleon Berlin Presents the World Premiere of “Wolf” by Circa

The contemporary circus company Circa has returned to Chamäleon Berlin with the world premiere of “Wolf” – bigger and bolder than ever before. In doing so, they celebrate two anniversaries.
On September 5, the world-famous circus ensemble Circa Contemporary Circus (Circa) presented the world premiere of Wolf at Chamäleon Berlin – a spectacular gift to both the theatre and themselves on their 20th anniversaries. “We have created the most complex production in our long history together for the Chamäleon,” promises Circa Director Yaron Lifschitz. And he isn’t only referring to the ten top-class acrobats simultaneously jumping, dancing, and flying across the stage. “More power, more energy, and no compromises – we want to move the audience deeply for 90 minutes.”

The first half of Wolf sets the stage for glimpses into different lives: In complex solos and duets, the ten protagonists wordlessly express their fears, insecurities, and doubts, and suggest a way out. “It’s about overcoming the obstacles placed in our path by others and ourselves,” says Yaron Lifschitz, with an unbridled will to live. “It’s a piece about the untamed inner spirit that forges a path, gives courage, and can guide us.” It explores being more than a cog in an increasingly automated world – becoming a wolf with burning eyes and restless energy.

The second half of the piece demonstrates the effect of uniting individual energies into a collective force. The individuals come together as a pack, trying to create a balance of power between instinct and emotion, frenzy and sensuality. Breathtaking acrobatics and ultra-precise choreography lead to a magnificent collective dance by ten masterful artists. They roam and chase across the stage with glowing eyes – wild and lively, free and deeply connected, dangerous and beautiful. “With this piece, we want to create a kind of mythical space,” says Lifschitz. A space in which you can dream.

“It’s the ideal of living the most passionate life possible,” says Lifschitz, with all its risks and dangers, but also with all its possibilities and wonders. “For me, theatre is a world of dreams, but not a fairy tale,” says Lifschitz. It is a place of challenges and questions. “And these questions include: Have we become too tame? And what happens when we try to break out?” The untamed electronic soundtrack by renowned composer, drummer, and DJ Ori Lichtik, who has previously worked on the Circa projects Circa’s Peepshow and Humans 2.0, suits this perfectly. “With Ori, there are no obvious, symmetrical beats,” says Lifschitz. “The music gives you something to wrestle with, to be seduced by, that has an honest tension.”

Circa is producing Wolf in collaboration with the Chamäleon, and it is no coincidence that it marks the anniversary year for both the theatre and the company itself. The world premiere on September 5 occurs almost exactly 20 years after the theatre was re-established as Berlin’s creative hub for contemporary circus, and 20 years after the Australian ensemble first introduced itself as Circa. “We want to celebrate two decades of contemporary circus at the Chamäleon,” says Anke Politz. “And we particularly enjoy doing so with a world-class company like Circa, which has been around as long as we have and with whom the Chamäleon shares such a long and special history.” More than eleven years after their debut in the Hackesche Höfe with their production Wunderkammer, Wolf is Circa’s seventh piece at the Chamäleon. The Australian group last appeared here in 2021 with the production cycle Circa – A Company in Residence, presenting four different pieces in four months.

“A large part of my time at Circa is inextricably linked to the Chamäleon,” says Yaron Lifschitz. “It has always been a privilege to undertake this journey and grow together. It feels great to be part of the amazing artistic development that the Chamäleon has undergone.” The creative possibilities at the venue are now almost unlimited, and Berlin audiences appreciate intensity rather than sedation. “As Circa, we value entertainment, but we don’t make pandering theatre,” says Lifschitz. “We want to create intense experiences of unbridled energy and authentic beauty, at times funny, at times sexy, at times strange.” The Chamäleon offers the ideal space for that. “We experience an invaluable sense of trust here, a feeling of being at home.”

Circa is considered one of the world’s most renowned circus companies; the group from Brisbane, Australia, ranks among the pioneers of contemporary circus. Their work has won several Helpmann Awards, Australia’s most prestigious prize for live entertainment and performing arts. The ensemble is known for its extremely physical acrobatics and constantly reinterprets dance, theatre, and circus. Crossing the boundaries of the performing arts, the artists move seamlessly between all genres and stages. For example, Yaron Lifschitz recently staged a new production of Dido & Aeneas with Libby McDonnell as co-director at Opera Queensland. The production was a great success: “Sublime, erotic, dangerous: 80 minutes of baroque astonishment,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Wolf 
by Circa Contemporary Circus (Circa)
A Co-Production with the Chamäleon Berlin.

Director: Yaron Lifschitz
Music: Ori Lichtik
Light: Alex Berlage
Costumes: Libby McDonnell

 

 

Tickets at chamaeleonberlin.com/de. 
The show is running until January 5, 2025

 

All photos is this article are by Andy Phillipson

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