Run time is approximately 70 minutes, with no intermission.

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Media Partner: Michigan Public

The amount of actual stuff in a human is miniscule. We are made up of distantly spaced atoms, each of which is almost all empty space. If we remove all the empty spaces, the amount of stuff in each of us is roughly a small speck of dust. That is all the matter we are. The physical space we occupy beyond that–our form, our force, our dreams, hopes, aspirations and fears–is created by energy. It might be more apposite to think about us as energy fields very sporadically interspersed with a tiny amount of stuff. We are galaxies, constellations of energies, not lumps of humanness. If you want to seriously challenge our Ptolemaic sensibilities, let’s add to this that no more than 10% of the cells in our bodies are actually human. We are mostly empty space, connected by energy, and the matter we are made up of is significantly not made of us!

So instead let’s see ourselves as a hurly-burly of energy, a glorious soup of possibility. Let’s think of ‘human’ not as a noun but rather as a kind of verb.

Humans 2.0 is inspired by this verbness. It is not what we are but how we are that fuels the show–how we connect, attract, repel and attach. On a petri dish humans like small strands of DNA combine, separate and intertwine. Great complexity is generated as are moments of clarity, form and beauty. Skill, virtuosity, individuality can all be glimpsed but mostly it is the group and its endless forms and variations that creates a show as intriguing as it is unclassifiable. Just like all of us.

Yaron Lifschitz
Artistic Director, Circa

Circa: circus that moves the world.

Circa is one of the world’s great performing arts companies. Since 2004, they have called Brisbane, Australia, home while touring the world, captivating audiences in over 45 countries and reaching more than two million people. Their award-winning performances have earned standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out shows across six continents.

Everything they do is fuelled by their core values: quality, audacity, humanity. They are at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus, redefining the art form by showcasing how extreme physicality can forge powerful and emotive experiences.

They are relentless in the way they push boundaries, blending movement, dance, theatre and circus.

Under the visionary leadership of Yaron Lifschitz, and in collaboration with their extraordinary ensemble of circus artists, they craft a diverse array of productions that constitute “a revolution in the spectacle of circus” (Les Echos).

Each year they tour their shows across the world and premiere multiple new creations. They are a staple at prestigious festivals and venues in New York, London, Berlin and Montreal as well as throughout Queensland and across Australia.

Their extensive engagement programs, including Circa Academy, Circability and Circa Cairns (a First Nations-led circus initiative) provide access,participation and professional development outcomes. Theyhave delivered major projects including the Creative Lead on the Commonwealth Games Festival 2018 and managing Artour for the Queensland Government.

They invite you to join them as they continue to “redraw the limits to which circus can aspire” (The Age).

YARON LIFSCHITZ, DIRECTOR

Yaron Lifschitz makes shows. Big ones, small ones, and ones that defy easy categorization. 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".

ORI LICHTIK, ORIGINAL MUSIC

Musician, member of the artistic crew of L-E-V Dance Company of Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar, DJ and drummer.

Lichtik is one of the founders of the Tel-Aviv techno scene in the 1990s where he started his career as a DJ and producer of techno parties and raves. Since 2006, Ori has been collaborating with Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar as a musician in the artistic team. Rather than composing the soundtracks, Ori performs in L-E-V performances in which he constructs, plays and characterizes the music in each performance.

The uniqueness of Lichtik’s work is the combination of the various musical worlds into an evolving and refined soundtrack, full of passion and groove, which alongside the choreography gives the spectator a complete and hypnotic experience. Lichtik soundtracks are influenced by different styles and textures, from industrial and African tribe recordings, through hip-hop to baroque music. Ori’s music is one of the most prominent and unusual hallmarks of Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar’s dance performances.

Over the years, Ori has created various works for L-E-V, dance companies and opera houses around the world.

Lichtik has created alongside Sharon & Gai throughout the choreographic process, reflecting off of the dancers’ movements, and as often inspiring and prompting them with the tone and pace of his percussive sounds and rhythms

PAUL JACKSON, LIGHTING DESIGNER

Paul Jackson is a multi-award-winning lighting designer and theatre maker whose work has featured across Australia, New Zealand, United States, Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom.

Paul has designed lighting for The Australian Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, West Australian Ballet,Berlin Staatsballett, Victorian Opera, West Australian Opera, Sydney Theatre Company, MelbourneTheatre Company, Gordon Frost Organization, TML, The Production Company, Bell Shakespeare, Playbox, Malthouse, Belvoir, Circa, Ballet Lab, Lucy Guerin, Chunky Move, World of Wearable Art NewZealand, KAGE, La Mama, Chamber Made Opera and many others.

Paul was Artistic Associate at Malthouse Theatre from 2007–2013. Paul has received a Helpmann Award, two Sydney Theatre Awards, three APDG Awards, seven Green Room Awards and a Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland.

LIBBY MCDONNELL, COSTUME DESIGN

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 power of art to connect.

JASON ORGAN, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Jason graduated from Queensland University of Technology in 1988 and has had an extensive career as a Lighting Designer, Production Manager, Technician and Rigger. He has worked with companies such as Queensland Ballet, Queensland Theatre, La Boite, Kooemba djarra and festivals such as Out of the Box, Qld Music Festival and Brisbane Festival.

Jason was co-founder of JLX productions, a Brisbane-based lighting design and technical consultancy. Between 2010 and 2022 Jason worked exclusively with Circa as Technical Director, in this time he has helped deliver 20 new productions and toured 31 countries presenting Circa’s work. Jason is currently a Production manager for QPAC’s curatorial department.

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Humans 2.0 is commissioned by The Mondavi Center, UC Davis