Brisbane based Circa present Humans at the Lafayette at the Underbelly’s Circus Hub in the Meadows.

This troupe of ten acrobats of six men and four women present a show that explores what it means to be human. Exploring the physical limits of their bodies as they are pushed to the extreme, they question how much we can take as humans. How much weight can we carry? Who can we trust to support our load? They lead us to reflect on our lives, our loved ones, the burdens we carry and the physical and emotional strength it takes to overcome them.

With the stage and indeed bodies stripped bare, other than minimalist leotards and the odd light-weight top, we witness death defying throws, holds, aerial work, the irony lying in the fact that these acrobats are anything but human. There’s no gender discrimination either with the women supporting their male performers’ body-weight in moves you don’t think are capable.

There is a humour within their portrayal too. One particularly funny yet strange part of the show has the troupe testing whether it is in fact true that a person cannot lick their own elbow. Our bodies place limitations on all of us.

Circa present ground-breaking circus every time, with choreographed moves that are original, striking and cross boundaries between gender of what is thought physically possible with the human body. At times bizarre, their moves evoke breath-holding and shock.

This is circus at its best and totally exhilarating, pushing what is humanly physically possible to the extreme. Just don’t try these moves at home.