The Flying Fruit Fly Circus is pleased to announce the 8 projects that we will support through our Under Construction Residency program this year.
Under Construction supports emerging and established artists in Australia to develop and perform original new circus and physical theatre works. It provides structure for creative development, concluding with a work-in-progress showing or performance at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus and Circus Centre Melbourne.
Since 2021, 142 artists have worked on 36 projects through the Under Construction program. In 2026 we are set to welcome another 53 artists over 15 residencies. And thanks to Creative Australia, over $100,000 of cash and in-kind support is on offer. We can’t wait to welcome this round of artists to Albury Wodonga and Melbourne, share our facilities and support world-class independent circus being developed in Australia.
The 2026 Under Construction (Jul to Dec) Residents are:
FLYING FRUIT FLY CIRCUS
Grace Law & Celia White
How to be Human
Blending circus, puppetry and spoken word, How to be Human explores the tension between our head and our heart. In turn playful and melancholic, this inventive and enchanting new production examines the absurd and upends expectations and dares to pose some big questions on life. Ultimately, a show for those still figuring it all out.
Photo Credit: David Kelly
Nicci Wilks, Debra Batton, Jo Lancaster, Jarred Dewey
Wrinkles& Crackers
Not wanting to experience their slow demise Wrinkles and Crackers are looking for an alternative way out. These two old hats have nothing to lose, their every move is a mess of rule-breaking wondrousness – all in aid of resisting the bitter end. A show about death and dying on your own terms.
Margot Mansfield, Britt Plummer, Taylor Dawson, Kyahm Ross
I Can’t Take Them With Me
I Can’t Take Them With Me is a new multi-disciplinary promenade theatre work. Weaving together circus, physical theatre, dance and storytelling. It’s about what happens when you lose someone you love and when you can’t pick your undies off the floor anymore. It’s also about dancing, faith and the ups and downs of life.
Photo Credit: Kyahm Ross
CIRCUS CENTRE MELBOURNE
Jasmin Tait, Griffin Hooper, Naz Alexander, Dakoda Barr
Banquet
Join this bunch of misfit characters on a journey from riches to ruin as the world they know falls apart but they grow closer. Banquet explores abundance, greed and connection with absurdity and a flair for the spectacular. Artists move through circus, theatre, music and magic in this dark and enchanting piece.
Aleshanee Kelso & Tomas Correia
When it Tolls
Inspired by death and its ritualistic practices across cultures, When It Tolls explores an assortment of absurd characters such as remote-controlled creatures, a paper monster, and masked gremlins. After its initial development and performance at UFFO in Trutnov, Czechia, this second development will delve further into puppetry, character work, and overall narrative.
Ellen Bartlett, Amy Stone, Caleb Hope, Emily Loe, Gabriel Walker, James Bartlett
Plastic Family
This project is a combination of the abstract and the concrete, in which juggling props become anthropomorphic, sibling tensions become odd tales of whimsy and cousin to cousin conversations will be had in a PVC forest. It’s The Adam’s Family meets the Moomin Trolls. These familial relations, chosen or not, will be explored through object manipulation while our connections to our everyday day items will be uncovered. Come join the Plastic Family.
Lily Fish, Kimberley Twiner
Solo Mime Show
Solo Mime Show is a new physical theatre show from Naarm-based company Fish and Twiner. It will explore the non-verbal performance forms of pantomime blanche, action mime, and figurative mime. Performed by Lily Fish (Best Performer – Green Room Awards 2024) and directed by Kimberley Twiner (Best Comedy – Melbourne Fringe 2023).
Richard Sullivan, Joe Fisher, Samuel Kreusler, Byron Hutton
Surface Tension
This new work from Throw Catch Collective builds bold, explosive images out of innovative juggling. With an original score and a strong focus on rhythm and repetition, mesmerising patterns steadily emerge before shattering in a reflection of the modern attention economy.
