Organised by NICA as part of its tenth birthday celebrations, Melbourne Circus Festival presents graduates of the school in a programme that's big on entertainment/cabaret/variety, but has as well a parallel strand of workshops, forums and film screenings.
The programme doesn't run much toward Sideshow's rarefied tastes, but ThisSideUp's Controlled Falling Project is a widely toured piece of vigorous acrobatics pinned to a creaky narrative frame about a scientist conducting experiments on the performers; Marawa's Exotica, recently seen at Jacksons Lane as part of their Postcards festival, takes a trip back through some of variety's greatest acts; a first year showcase, Lost Ground, features 36 students (bound to be something good in there...); and the now infamous La Clique star Captain Frodo performs The Way of the Showman.