Renaissance

RENAISSANCE is a feature-length work of contemporary circus created for theatre stages. Thematically, the work is centred around rebirth and reinvention without drawing parallels to the actual Renaissance. The Renaissance, arguably one of the greatest epochs of the arts, was believed to have emerged as a result of the far-reaching societal changes following the Bubonic plague that devastated populations across Europe & Asia. Since first embarking upon this project in 2019, a pandemic has transformed our world in ways unimaginable, creating a moment in which we are all probably in need of some kind of renaissance. For Nocturne 2022 audiences, RENAISSANCE will be previewed as a work-in-progress in the form of an immersive contemporary circus installation.

Within the immersive contemporary circus experience that is RENAISSANCE, audience members will view the world from a variety of perspectives as they stow away aboard each life on this passage through death’s ocean. Veiled and vicarious, they will witness the many forms that a life and a legacy can take and recognize themselves in the inevitable moments of struggle, overcoming and emergence. Sometimes our grandest gesture is forgotten and our smallest kindness lives on long after we’re gone. Our legacy can be nestled within the turn and tone of a phrase, the artful dance of our extremities, the success of another or the miscalculation that leads to new expression.

Change and evolution are the metaphorical births and deaths that we experience as part of our human existence. We have within us the capacity to be willingly reborn from moment to moment, surrendering the parts of our realities that no longer serve us or others as we move through the world. Our mortality is an eternal gift when we choose to embrace our RENAISSANCE.

RENAISSANCE is presented by Breaking Circus Collective, a diverse company of contemporary circus artists residing and working in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, NS).

Wheelchair accessible - Limited free parking on site and on the surrounding side streets. The entrance, main floor and washroom areas are wheelchair accessible. For the Renaissance performances, there is a mix of seating and standing areas within the venue.