Taiwanese all-female circus #Since1994 takes flight in Fringe debut
Trailblazing Taiwanese company Eye Catching Circus is set to make its explosive WA debut with #Since1994—a breathtaking contemporary circus experience featuring an all-female ensemble of acrobats. Created by Chih-Ling Mei, the raw, competitive and fiercely supportive performance is set to challenge everything audiences know about the female body and what it can achieve. #Since1994 will hit The Gold Digger at The Pleasure Garden from Wednesday, January 21, to Sunday, February 1, 2026, with tickets on sale now. NATASHA PAUL spoke with producer and director of Cluster Arts, Debra Wilks, to find out more about the all-female circus ensemble, challenging traditional circus performances, and dismantling harmful stereotypes of the female body.
Congratulations on bringing your high-impact contemporary circus #Since1994 to Fringe World 2026! How are you feeling about bringing the show to WA for the first time?
We are truly excited to bring our contemporary circus work #Since1994 to Western Australia. Our previous two performances in Australia were both at Adelaide Fringe in South Australia, so this will be our first time performing in another Australian city. It feels like a meaningful new step for the work, and we are really looking forward to connecting with audiences in WA.
Featuring an all-female ensemble, #Since1994 aims to dismantle stereotypes and reclaim the narrative of what the female body can do. Tell us more about this and why it’s so important to have this representation in the circus.
In traditional circus training, skills have long been distributed along rigid gender lines. Certain disciplines—such as juggling or acting as the base in acrobatic partnering—were often considered unsuitable for women, who were more frequently positioned in supporting roles rather than at the centre of a work. As a result, there have historically been very few circus productions created with women as the primary focus.
Through #Since1994, we aim to challenge these limitations and expand the imagination of what women circus performers can be. The work is not only about visibility but also about agency—about reclaiming space, strength, and complexity within the circus field.
Tell us about the decision to name the circus show #Since1994. Does it refer to a specific feminist movement or event?
The title #Since1994 comes from the fact that both the director and performers were born after 1994. Rather than referencing a specific feminist movement or event, the work reflects a shared generational perspective. We wanted to create a contemporary circus piece shaped by the lived experiences of women who grew up after 1994 and to speak from within that generational context.
Created by Chih-Ling MEI, the show is described as ‘rebellion in motion’. What kinds of exciting acts and displays can audiences expect from the show that set it apart from traditional circus shows?
Throughout the work, audiences will see multiple ways in which we actively challenge the conventions of traditional circus. Five women carry nearly a 60-minute performance together; we explore different expressions of strength through women’s circus bodies; and we continuously question gendered assumptions about technique, power, and physical ability.
Rather than presenting rebellion as a single dramatic gesture, it unfolds through endurance, cooperation, and presence. For the rest, we invite audiences to experience the work firsthand in the theatre.
What were any challenges you faced when curating the show, as I believe the performers are suspended from symbolic frames and essentially ‘defy gravity’?
One of the main challenges was avoiding the apparatus becoming a single, fixed symbol. Because the body within the structure must bear weight, maintain balance, and endure fatigue, it can easily be read as simply being trapped or oppressed.
During rehearsals, I continuously adjusted the work to open up multiple readings—to allow audiences to see not only vulnerability but also choice. I wanted them to notice how people move, how they support one another, and how balance is negotiated under constant instability, rather than seeing the body as merely confined.
For me, the original image of the apparatus was an open wardrobe—an intimate yet exposed space. A place where bodies peel away layers, sway, and search for openings. I was never trying to confine anyone; instead, I wanted to show how, even within constructed spaces, we fall while still holding one another up.
#Since1994 was the Weekly Award Winner of Adelaide Fringe Festival 2024, with runs at Festival Off Avignon in 2024 and Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023. How does it feel to use your show to successfully shatter harmful stereotypes of female bodies across the globe?
After touring in the UK and France, we received a great deal of thoughtful feedback from audiences. While we certainly haven’t reached everyone yet, I do feel that the work has taken an important step forward.
One response that stayed with us was, “After seeing your work, I have a completely different understanding of Asian circus.” That moment reaffirmed why we continue touring—to open conversations, challenge assumptions, and allow more people to encounter this work.
What overall messages do you hope the audience take away from #Since1994, considering all genders?
I hope audiences leave the theatre with a renewed experience of contemporary circus and with a deeper understanding of Asian women circus performers—particularly in how they move beyond and challenge inherited gender stereotypes. More broadly, I hope the work invites people of all genders to reconsider how strength, balance, and support can be embodied and shared.
#Since1994 will hit 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