Circus isn’t big in Calgary theatre, but the folks behind Lhasa hope to change that.

DETAILS

Lhasa: Land of the Gods presented by Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre
Lantern Church
Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 21

More in: Theatre

Léda Davies describes herself and fellow cast mates Marcy Lannan and Jamie Tognazzini as “three girls who just wanted to run away and join the circus.” So perhaps it’s not surprising that the show they’re staging, Lhasa: Land of the Gods from Swallow-a-Bicycle Performance Co-op, is somewhat akin to Cirque du Soleil.

“We are theatre artists first and foremost, but through a collaborative creation process we super-imposed circus movements to help enhance the storytelling,” says Davies, who is studying aerial arts at Calgary’s Circus School. Tognazzini spent some time in Hawaii developing her circus skills, and all three women took a circus workshop at The Banff Centre. “We wanted to share these skills we’ve been working on for the past two years, and what better way to do that than put on a show?” adds Davies, noting there’s not a lot of circus work performed in Calgary.

Lhasa features circus apparatus, including a static trapeze, a hoop and silks, to help tell the story of an otherworldly creature who is expelled from the land of the gods in order to learn and grow and, in doing so, eventually find its way back home. Along the way, it encounters birds and sirenesque creatures as it learns to swim and fly. “We wanted to do a story about the idea of growing up and finding your place in society,” says Davies.

The circus equipment enhances the story, allowing the birds to fly, the gods to live in the sky and, by using silks in an unconventional manner, the sirens to exist in the water. The main difference between this show and a straight-up circus performance is the storyline, and the fact that no one act in Lhasa can stand alone.

Nonetheless, the three women began the creation process by developing the aerial art and movement. “We started with movement and the medium, and the story evolved itself out of that,” says Davies.

The 45-minute show, which Davies says is long for a performance involving aerial art, takes place essentially without dialogue. Instead, Brent Podesky, who created the show’s soundscape, plays piano and accordion throughout, and Davies, Lannan and Tognazzini sing, sans words. “We create different worlds with sounds and tones,” says Davies. In one instance, two birds do a tango on the circus hoop to accordion music.

Davies says the title of the show, and the presence of the accordion, pays homage to recently deceased Montreal singer-songwriter Lhasa, whose music helped inspire the work. The title also has a geographic reference, as Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, the traditional home of the Dalai Lama, and a popular place of pilgrimage.

Davies calls Lhasa: Land of the Gods a work in progress. “We’re exploring doing something different for art and theatre in Alberta. There are not a lot of people to source from,” she says. She hopes the performance will grow and evolve based on the feedback they receive.

The show will also offer a rare opportunity for audience members. “We’re used to seeing aerial work on television, or seeing Cirque du Soleil in a huge space. To see it so close has a huge impact. It draws the audience in on a different level,” says Davies.

“We hope we’ll ignite a spark for circus out here, because it’s something popular out East, but we don’t get to explore it very much here.”