This article is sponsored content.

With fiery tricks, acrobatics, hula hooping, freakshow stunts and much hilarity on the menu, you might be surprised to learn that Zap Circus is a team of just two.

Husband-and-wife duo Tarrabelle Murphy and Rusty Hammond have been playing with fire – literally and metaphorically – since they first met.

Ahead of a tour that sees them travel from WA’s Great Southern, through the Wheatbelt, all the way up to the Pilbara, before heading to the Goldfields, Nina Levy caught up with Tarrabelle Murphy to find out more about the pair, and the new show A Circus Sensation.

Nina Levy: How did you and Rusty come to circus? Did you grow up around the artform?

Tarrabelle Murphy: We both went to university to study other subjects – I did law and Rusty did engineering and environmental science – and went on to work in our respective fields, loving circus as a hobby.

As we spent more and more time on circus, we realised that there was an opportunity to do something more meaningful and we took the jump! We left our jobs to pursue performing circus full-time and we never looked back.

NL: You and Rusty are a husband and wife duo – was the partnership romantic or professional initially?

TM: We met through circus, actually at a course learning how to fire breathe! We were the only two people to pass the course. Everyone else died haha.

We were friends first, then we began performing together, eventually we started dating and that lead to ZAP Circus.

NL: Working with fire, as you do, seems quite risky from the outside looking in. Is it as dangerous as it looks?

TM: Sometimes people think the fire is fake! There’s no such thing as fake fire, all of the stunts in our shows, including the fire, are 100% real.

We spend countless hours rehearsing to make sure we can perform insane acts in a way that keep our audiences totally safe. We (happily) risk our lives (and body hair) for your entertainment.

NL: You’ve travelled to over 30 countries to perform. What has been the highlight of your travels as a performer?

TM: So many! It’s impossible to have just one highlight, but I love hearing people’s reactions after shows.

One time when we were performing in Italy, after a show a little old Italian woman came up and in her best broken English said “You made me laugh, but best of all you made me cry.” That really hit home, that the experiences we create connect with everybody.

Also, one time we got on the wrong plane… like all the way into our seats on the plane. The only reason we worked it out before take-off was because someone wanted our seats! We had to leg it off that plane, and find our actual plane before it left!

NL: And what’s been your funniest moment on stage?

TM: There’s a joke in one of our shows where Rusty asks an audience member for a little kiss on the cheek, and a gorgeous man went right in for a pash on the lips!

The entire audience erupted into raucous, doubled-over, holding your belly, faces-hurt-from-smiling laughter.

Rusty was blushing for the rest of the show!

NL: What do you notice about performing to audiences in different parts of the world?

TM: Circus really brings people together and we love that! No matter where we perform we adore the way audiences come together. We are all human, and the connection that circus brings is incomparable. When you take an audience on a journey of excitement, danger and happiness you create a lasting connection between all the individuals who experience that moment.

NL: What can audiences expect from your 2022 touring show Circus Sensation?

TM: Circus Sensation is a whole damn variety show with just two performers, us!

We wanted to create happiness with an uplifting, high-energy show that is funny, impressive, inspiring and that can still be rated PG. Everyone is welcome, even the kids!

Expect acrobatics, fire, lasers and comedy – it’s a whirlwind of sensations and our audiences get up close and personal with the performers, something that really creates a lasting impression.

Zap Circus will be touring A Circus Sensation around regional WA, 14 September – 28 October 2022:

Borden: 14 September at the Borden Pavilion
Ravensthorpe: 18 September at Ravensthorpe Town Hall
Morawa: 22 September at Morawa Town Hall
Onslow: 25 September 25 at RM Forrest Hall
Pannawonica: 27 September at Pannawonica Community Hall
Tom Price: 29 September atTom Price Community Centre
Paraburdoo: 30 September at Ashburton & Lesser Hall
Kalgoorlie: 8 October at Goldfields Arts Centre
Corrigin: 28 October at Corrigin Town Hall

Pictured top is Tarrabelle Murphy performing in ‘A Circus Sensation’. Photo: Jarrad Seng