Archaos

Lords of chaos and new circus progenitors. Archaos embraced danger, aggression, iconoclasm, loudness, badness – they were a circus of stunts and fire, and their clattering, anarchic retinue (founded in 1986) forced its way through the regular conception of the circus as an arena only for rigid, glittering acts and obedient animals. They have more perhaps in common with new circus – its penchant for steel, sparks, pantomimic characterisation; its closeness to punk – than the contemporary circus aesthetic, but the company has a great and continuing legacy in all facets of the artform. Today, Archaos are based at and run the residency centre CREAC in Marseille.