Cover Image: Flying high in Circa’s Duck Pond. Image by Daniel Boud.

Paddling over from Meanjin, Brisbane, Circa’s Duck Pond makes a splash at WA’s Heath Ledger Theatre. Directed by Circa’s Artistic Director, Yaron Lifschitz, the production draws on Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling as a springboard for virtuosic acrobatics, comic disruptions and aerial circus.

Lifschitz’s stage design is immediately striking, with large-scale fabrics that ripple and float beneath Alexander Berlage’s lighting, which washes the stage in soft blues and aquas evocative of Swan Lake. Comedic and heightened moments are dipped in candied hues. Together, fabric and light create a whimsical atmosphere, opening with suspended cloth that shifts from silhouette to running water as it collapses to reveal Cupid in a wetsuit-tutu and mismatched wings. Draped strips of fabric form three glowing walls around a slick black tarquette floor that suggests a still lake.

The troupe spills through the drapes in a fluid rush of walkovers, backflips and tumbles. Dark, velvety unitards by Libby McDonnell evoke the depth of the milky way while nodding to a modern ballet aesthetic. These are later replaced with white, sharp neo-classical designs.

Alongside Cupid, three central archetypes emerge including the Prince, the Black Swan and Ugly Duckling or White Swan. These archetypes drift lightly through the merged stories, repeatedly giving away to virtuosic circus and comedic twists, which is where the production’s true magic lies.

Circa’s troupe deliver breathtaking acts from aerial silks, lyra, and primarily, hand-to-hand acrobatics featuring hair-raising tosses and three person-towers that collapse with deceptive ease. The performers’ mutual trust is palpable, particularly through intricate balancing acts that are both daring and graceful.

Jethro Woodward reimagines Tchaikovsky, drifting in and out of recognition to a contemporary and witty score. The familiar Dance of the Cygnets gives away to a troupe of mop-wielding ducks to clean up a mess of feathers after a giant pillow fight. Their intermittent quacks adding quirk to the music.

One of the production’s greatest triumphs is its fluid transitions between tricks. Duets emerge from tableaux, as Prince courts the Ugly Duckling, fusing together fluid contemporary movement with the acrobatic prowess. Each act is shaped with creative choreography that softens the mechanics of the tricks, allowing the skills to unfold with fluidity.

Duck Pond makes its own ripples in the spliced narratives with a comedic ending that gestures toward female empowerment. Where the narrative would naturally settle, a final section introduces additional circus acts including diabolo, hula hoops, clowning and audience interactions. A striking final image of the White Swan surrounded by rippling black cloth returns us to the opening concept. The epilogue disrupts pacing and thematic clarity but is still a playful and wicked display of the performers’ abilities.

Visually lush and technically stunning, Duck Pond seamlessly transitions awe-inspiring hand-to-hand acrobatics into moments of genuine wonder.  

Duck Pond presented by Arts and Culture Trust and Circa opened on Sunday 12 April in the Heath Ledger Theatre and will be performed from Wednesday 15 – 18^th April 2026.

To book tickets visit the State Theatre Centre of WA website.