Dark Circus sees paper, ink, sand and silhouettes spring into being in the skilled hands of two visual artists who draw and play music live to build a big top universe, their striking creations projected onto a large screen. 

‘Come for the show, stay for the woe.’ A sinister ringmaster invites the inhabitants of a dreary city to his circus tent, where he presides over catastrophic acts. The trapeze artist plummets, the animal trainer is devoured, the human cannonball is lost in space … until a juggler strikes a discordant note, releasing the flash of colour everyone has been waiting for. 

Born from the imagination of French illustrator Pef, the fantastical story of Dark Circus is animated onstage by Stereoptik duo, Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet.

Surrounded by everyday drawing materials and a collection of instruments, they share the techniques, tools and low-tech effects behind their wondrous, cartoon-like apparitions. Accompanied by a whimsical electro-acoustic soundtrack, this feel-good show literally emerges before your eyes.