NICA presents Lucy and the Lost Boy

Australia’s centre of excellence in contemporary circus arts, the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) presents:

Lucy and the Lost Boy
A new circus work featuring NICA’s graduating artists

NICA’s stunning new production features the final year circus arts students in collaboration with award-winning Australian physical theatre and circus director, Sally Richardson. Lucy and the Lost Boy opens on June 13 at the National Circus Centre in Prahran and is inspired by the evocative and bold street art of Melbourne’s iconic laneways.

Well-known street artists such as Vexta, Urban Cake Lady, Ha-Ha and Anthony Lister are amongst the many artists creating cutting edge, vibrant art in the heart of the city. Lucy and the Lost Boy draws on the creativity of these hidden gems.

Lucy and the Lost Boy follows the central character, Lucy, who dreams of being an artist while her parents have other plans. We fly with her on a high-energy adventure into the mysterious and uncharted territory inhabited by the free-spirited Flying Boy and Ladybird. This is a world in which creatures of the air clash with those of the ground with spellbinding feats of aerial bravado and spectacular acrobatics.

The show is devised and directed by Perth-based director Sally Richardson who has been the Artistic Director of Steamworks Arts Productions since 2001. Her credits for theatre and dance direction include The Flying Fruit Fly Circus production The Promise, which featured in the Sydney Festival in 2009 and won a Helpmann Award for Best Presentation for Children, tours to Shanghai and Beijing with The Drover’s Wives in 2007 and the production Alice which featured in the Melbourne, Perth and Sao Paulo International Arts Festivals.

Richardson directed the 2009 NICA production Rhapsody and says she is delighted to once again be working with NICA’s final year students and teachers. “Such a talented and dynamic circus ensemble of this size is unique in Australia. The show is going to be a celebration of the imaginative, youthful, energetic, vibrant creative arts scene that is unique to Melbourne.”

This family-friendly show is a rare opportunity to witness the future stars of the circus world at the start of their professional careers.

Lucy and the Lost Boy, will have a strictly limited season at NICA’s National Circus Centre in Prahran from 13 to 23 June, 2012.

Tickets for Lucy and the Lost Boy are now on sale at www.nica.com.au

Located in Prahran, Victoria, NICA is a national arts training institute that offers Australia's only Bachelor of Circus Arts, a course accredited by Swinburne University of Technology that attracts applicants from across Australia and around the world. In 2011 NICA celebrated ten successful years as Australia’s premier centre of excellence in contemporary circus arts training. NICA graduates are employed in major circuses across Australia and internationally and the CircaNICA agency provides a valuable bridge for graduates to step into the circus industry by acting as an agent and producer of new works. NICA also offers a range of exciting recreational short courses for children, teenagers and adults and supports the circus industry with professional development and master classes.