Review: #since1994 at The Pleasure Garden
#Since1994 at The Gold Digger at The Pleasure Garden
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Go catch #Since1994 at Fringe, and you will catch an unbelievable troupe of performers catching things, and each other, in acts of athletic derring-do, even using their feet! This all-female circus act from Taiwan has performed at Adelaide Fringe for the past two years, winning an award for best circus, and this year they debuted their thought-provoking and playful act in Perth, with a short season from 21 Jan to 1 Feb.
With the five performers all born on or after 1994 (hence the name), the show moves swiftly through a number of set pieces and vignettes showcasing a strong range of acrobatic talents. These included dance, hoops, juggling, juggling hoops, feats of agility, some impressive table spinny-spin and flippy flip (as Ozzy Man would say), a lot of strength and flexibility, various acts of suspension, stacking into a human pyramid, leavened with physical comedy, sprinkled with a judicious amount of audience participation, and spiked at one point with a scream.
This show continually asks the audience to reassess all that is asked of women, both by society and by each other. Themes of support, overwhelm, empowerment, ostracism, and care are developed and examined. The influence and importance of beauty, both natural and artificial, is questioned in a number of ways, through movement, strength, costume, and by using lots of lipstick! The show also examines what women are capable of, physically and emotionally, and the troupe play with their own responses to internal and external assumptions while casually demolishing any lack of belief in their ability. All without being too heavy-handed about it.
In fact nothing seemed heavy in the show, as the performers made a mockery of the entire concept of gravity and the laws of physics. Whether draping themselves over bars, like the clocks in the Dali painting, or lifting each other up, including into a three-human pyramid, or spinning a wooden table like it was made of corflute, these graceful, strong young women, individually and collectively, made deceptively light work of the effort involved in their acts. There was a great deal of skill, strength and training required to perform these acts while making them look like the proverbial walk in the park.
With an interesting, atmospheric custom-made soundtrack with some awesome electronica and a number of costume changes which included showgirl leotards and nude underwear and inspired choreography designed by Mei Chih-Ling, this intimate, interesting, and invigorating show is well worth checking out as part of your Fringe World experience. #Since1994 elicited much laughter, frequent spontaneous applause, and an atmosphere of curiosity about what was coming next from the audience, who were engaged and appreciative. This is a highly competent circus act interleaved with fun, frivolity and femininity.
EMMA SIMPER
#Since1994 is showing at The Gold Digger at The Pleasure Garden from Wednesday, January 21, to Sunday, February 1, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au
