Becoming Shades - immersive circus show

Bringing together live music, aerial acrobatics, fire, dance and mime, Becoming Shades is a story of empowerment, love and choices: a re-imagining of the classic myth of Persephone told through contemporary circus. Fragments, movements and tableaus, references and costume combine to create a show that is full of hope and sorrow. A dream, a memory, an echo; this shifting, cyclical tale creates an emotional tapestry of ideas and impressions that make up a dark and cerebral journey.

Whilst, the original myth portrays the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades – which brings about the birth of the seasons – this re-telling subverts the power structure and places Persephone in the centre of a story she controls, leading to her true realisation as The Queen of Shades. This is a dark immersive circus show, with great emphasis placed on the original music which features rich interplays of vocal harmonies and a combination of live acoustic instruments and darker electronic sounds.

First presented in 2016 at the Postcards Festival, the show has now been adapted into an immersive promenade format especially for Vault festival 2017. Expect aerialists hanging from above you, performers to appear from the darkest corners and to be taken down the river Styx to join those lost in the underworld.