Gravity & Other Myths in collaboration with The Brandenburger Symphoniker. Director: Darcy Grant. Musical Director: Sarah-Grace Williams. Composers: Sxip Shirley and Quentin (Quincy) Grant. The Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. 25 – 28 June, 2026

Reviewed : 26 June, 2026 *

Circus has used the atmospheric effect of music for centuries but imagine the creative – and crazy – possibilities of an acrobatic circus company working directly with composers and an orchestra! LOUDER incorporates all those possibilities and more. It unites music, circus and dance in a thrilling theatrical performance that is breath-takingly exciting – and made completely enchanting by a sense of artistic fun and exuberance.

Being asked to create a work with an orchestra led Darcy Grant, director of Gravity and Other Myths (GOM) to the realisation that orchestral music and contemporary circus are both built on traditions of “trust, discipline, collective effort and knowledge passed from one generation to the next” an d that “both are negotiating the relationship between inheritance and reinvention”.

GOM is an Australian circus company creating acrobatic art that celebrates humanity, play & physical mastery. Combining that aim with the work of contemporary musicians such as Quentin Grant and Sxip Shirley and classical compositions like Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 2, resulted in music that gave GOM the chance to “play” with their physical mastery in new ways on a new stage.

Combining music and movement is not unusual for Sarah-Grace Williams, conductor of the Metropolitan Orchestra. She and the twenty members of the orchestra were as much part of that “play” as the acrobats, providing not only the eclectic music that inspired the action, but some vocal soundscapes and body percussion that added a different physicality to the performance – and a special kind of innovative joy.

LOUDER is an artistic cohesion of sound and circus that combines the thrills and eccentricities of both in a way that is very much of this time … even as it calls back to musical and theatrical conventions of the past.

The pranks of commedia have ever been part of circus – and that humour and comedic timing are used to great effect in this production by the eight very highly trained and committed GOM performers.

Ash Youren, David Trappes, Emily Gare, Georgia Webb, Hamish McCourty, Issy Estrella , Léann Gingras and Skip Walker-Milne represent a wealth of international circus and acrobatic training and experience. They have honed their strength, fitness and skills as they work together in hand to hand, balance, climbing and group acrobatics. Their performance in LOUDER highlights the intense physical effort and concentration and the extraordinary trust inherent in this art form.

Contemporary theatre continues to surprise and titillate audiences as it pushes boundaries yet stays true to theatrical form. LOUDER is a perfect example of both.

First published in Stage Whispers magazine

* Opening performance