Legs On The Wall

[1]Legs On The Wall is an Australian physical theatre company based in Sydney.

Formed in 1984, Legs On The Wall's performances combine acrobatics with narrative theatre, circus skills and technology.[2] The company creates aerial outdoor shows and theatre productions, performing within Australia and internationally.[3][4]

Legs On The Wall received the 1994 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for a group. The production that this award was recognising in particular was All of Me.[5] This production was the culmination of over ten years of experimenting with narrative in physical theatre. The group approached theatre as a heightened reality, creating visceral theatre using physical skills instead of verbal language. The script for this work is in "Performing the unNameable".[6]

Legs on the Wall production On the Case was named Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production at the 2006 Helpmann Awards.[7]

History

Legs on the Wall began in a warehouse called 'Beta House' in Newtown, an inner-city suburb of Sydney.

Two warehouses in Newtown had been taken over by artists in the early 1980s (Alpha and Beta Houses)[8] One floor in Beta House became the circus/physical theatre section. Kerry Dwyer[9], a director and actor from Melbourne had started this particular space with Tim Coldwell (Circus Oz)[10]. They invited Brian Keogh, Thor Blomfield, and Oliver Lejus to train with them. This led to a rapidly expanding network of physical performers turning up every day to work out and rehearse for shows. Other notable performers from that period were Judy Pascoe[11], Alan Clarke[12], Stephen Burton[13] and Kerry Casey[14]. Everyone was young and keen, and wanted to work out physically. All these performers went to the two main acrobatic classes of the time. One was by George Sparkes (reference to come) and the other was by Rudi and Mary (reference to come).

The other person of significance was Clete Ball[15] part of the Bel Caron Trio.

There was a group that existed prior to the actual 'Legs on the Wall'. This group was called The Butchered Heart Players and they produced a show called Bruce Cuts Off His Hand.[16][17] It was the result of busking duo Thor Blomfield and Brian Keogh, coming together with French busker Oliver Lejus.[18][19] On a busking trip to Melbourne, with Syvio Ofria[20], they speculated about creating shows for theatres. The show premiered at the Newcastle Workers Club[21] (Newcastle Panthers) and then went on to seasons in Sydney and Adelaide. The show was originally reviewed by Richard Glover[22]. It was a show based around the massive layoffs that were occurring during that period in both Newcastle and Wollongong. Essentially it was a cabaret farce that started with firing the audience, and trying to get them to leave the theatre. Although this show has a shaky start, it went on to acclaim at the Adelaide Fringe, and it sowed the seeds of belief that a narrative structure could be created through circus type skills.

Around the same period, a training project with Nanching Acrobats called 'The Great Leap Forward' occurred at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury, NSW. The Beta House group adapted the basic training methods of this project. This started with an intense leg stretch involving everyone placing their legs on the window ledge in various positions for a count of 32 (in Chinese). The catch phrase became 'meeting for legs on the wall' at 8.

One of the first 'gigs' of Legs on the Wall was Sydney Festival, January 1985. This was followed by a four month tour of outback NSW, QLD and Northern Territority with the amazing Azmen![23]

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References
  1. "Members of the Circus Theatre Group," The Butchered Heart..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  2. Maddox, Gary (March 27, 2009). "New director to give legs to unconventional venues - Arts - Entertainment". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  3. Fulton, Adam (2011-09-05). "Plenty of gravity in this lofty new act". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  4. Westwood, Matthew (December 28, 2016). "Company bounces back after losing federal arts funding". The Australian.
  5. "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  6. "Trove". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  7. "Polished Dusty star shines - Arts - Entertainment - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  8. "Urban Renewal/Gentrification". Urban Growth & Decline. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  9. "Kerry Dwyer". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  10. "About Circus Oz". About Circus Oz. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  11. "Judy Pascoe". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  12. "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  13. Derksen, Melynda von. "Cabaret Vertigo". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  14. "Kerry Casey". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  15. "Bal Caron Trio.mp4 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  16. "Members of the Circus Theatre Group," The Butchered Heart..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  17. "Fringe Vault". fringevault.com.au. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  18. "Members of the Circus Theatre Group," The Butchered Heart..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  19. smharchives.smedia.com.au https://smharchives.smedia.com.au/Olive/APA/freesearch/?action=search&text=january_1984#panel=search&search=1. Retrieved 2020-08-10. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. Ofria, Sylvio. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0644457/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm. Retrieved 2020-08-12. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  22. smharchives.smedia.com.au https://smharchives.smedia.com.au/Olive/APA/freesearch/?action=search&text=january_1984#panel=search&search=1. Retrieved 2020-08-10. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. Debenham, Pam Lucifoil Poster Collective Tin Sheds Art Workshop. "The Teenage Roadshow presents Azman and the Azmatix. Light show and disco, live rock 'n' roll". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
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