_{Cover Image: The Raft. Image by Tashi Hall.}

The Raft

Co-directed by Ella Norton and Mackenzie Brown

Presented by Circus WA with 10 Nights in Port

Victoria Hall, Fremantle

Saturday 29 August 2026

In an endearing world of aquatic mischief and boundless creativity, Circus WA’s youth ensemble delivered an affecting devised journey inspired by a sinking ship.

Seamlessly weaving an eclectic array of forms, skills and emotional tones, this circus-theatre production, co-directed by Ella Norton and Mackenzie Brown, was grounded in a genuine commitment to keeping the heart of the work clear while showcasing its multitalented performers. Sparse but specific set and costume design (Charlotte Meagher) gave the audience space to imagine the experience of being lost at sea and connect more deeply with the people before us as they brawled and collaborated their way through it.

The nine-strong cast was infectiously eager and committed to its multifaceted roles, with each performer bringing a distinct sensibility that blended generously into a broader reflection on ensemble teamwork. Alongside the ensemble’s mastery of motion, balance, gravity and play, the group numbers were gorgeously textured with individuality through asymmetrical, story-driven choreography. This approach transformed the performance space into a place where difference thrived within togetherness.

From the cruise ship’s amusing welcome to its steady decline into splintered survival and a tenderly gothic underwater afterlife, the young performers remained buoyant and connected, finding worlds of their own as both humans and sea creatures. Their expressive dance and comedic acting felt authentic and unfussed across thoughtful solos, duets and musical moments that highlighted the performers’ wide-ranging skills, voices and passions.

Staged in Victoria Hall for 10 Nights in Port, the production immersed an audience seated on three sides in a rig-high marine world of blue-draped tarpaulin. Entering to vintage love songs and encountering crew members in stage blacks and felt seagull caps, I immediately felt at ease and part of something special within the open, vibrant, makeshift setting.

The Raft‘s comprehensive sound world (Max Barton) included vocal effects from the performers, Irish fiddle, classical requiems and percussive electric guitar, most of it performed and mixed live. This array of emotions and musical lineages gently drew me into a broader sense of humanity connected to the work’s core themes of crisis, teamwork and change.

Considered lighting (Jolene Whibley) smoothly carried us through several distinct emotional and metaphysical states, expressing the central meaning of each moment through simple shifts in colour, intensity and position. During ethereally slow aerial acts, moody lighting at height created a breathtaking yet grounded grandiosity. There was something deeply moving and humbling about looking up together at the pure beauty of this circus work’s quieter moments in a room full of strangers.

As inevitable cycles of death and loss followed the cruise ship passengers’ occasional unwillingness to look out for one another, a poignant theme of interdependence emerged from the depths of the work. It gently suggested that life is not meant to be lived alone and that sticking together gives life its colour and movement.

I happened to be having a lonely day when I saw this show, but afterwards I found myself talking to others more easily, congratulating artists and helping strangers at the train station. The Raft left me re-attuned to the common needs that bind people together and to how simple connection can be when we see it as an exciting, luminous and ordinary part of life.

Commissioned through Circus WA’s Emerging Directors Program, The Raft was devised from ideas contributed by the performers, who were aged 14 to 20. The result suggests a richly democratic and inclusive performance-making process that consolidated the team’s range of voices while extending and refining the work’s direction. It is exciting to consider the legacy such a holistic, cooperative process may have in these young people’s futures – and, I hope, in their continuing performance-making practices.

Although difficult plot points were met with a sadly realistic mix of togetherness, panic and selfishness, The Raft’s accessible dramaturgy conveyed, on an embodied level, the endless capacity of everyday people to find unexpected collaborative pathways through grim situations.

Full of silly side-tracks and glorious physical feats, the production audibly enthralled, absorbed and delighted its multigenerational audience – a testament to Circus WA’s professional development programs for young artists.

The Raft ran from 29^th – 30^th August at Victoria Hall for 10 Nights in Port.