From the circus company that brought you Wunderkammer and How Like An Angel comes an extraordinary and daring new cabaret show, playing their final London shows before going to Berlin to take up residency for 10 months. We caught up with Ben Knapton, Associate Director and Creative Producer of Circa. Running until 23 June at the London Wonderground.

Run-Riot: Can you tell us about your inner animal?
Ben Knapton: It dances poorly and occasionally drinks too much. It flirts and exudes a certain confidence that belies its desire to snuggle in tight to its closest family circle.

Run-Riot: Circa is about circus that moves the heart, mind and soul - how are the audience seduced, and lulled (or fired-up) to experience this?
Ben Knapton: At Circa, we ask our performers to reveal something of their inner selves on stage. We ask them to struggle with the humanism of that they do. When this happens it creates a meeting place where the performers are in conversation with each other, with the show material, with themselves and with the audience. Combine this with the incredible skills of the performers and the show becomes a joyous and mysterious recipe of meaning making for the audience.

Our latest show Beyond is a sort of meeting between cabaret and dance theatre. At its heart it’s about the relationship between our inner and outer selves. Playing with this relationship using the art form of Circus can move audiences because it is at once about incredible bodies doing incredible things as well as a hint of something greater that is inside all of us, our shared humanity. It’s also very funny!

Run-Riot: Can you tell us about the daily training required to keep in shape?
Ben Knapton: When at home in Brisbane our performers train and rehearse 9-5. The day is broken into warm-up, skills training, act building and rehearsals.

When on tour the performers have 3 hours of training before performance time. During this time they warm up, rehearse show-specific physical material and develop new material.

Run-Riot: Where's your favourite spot in London - and why?
Ben Knapton: We recently stayed in Shoreditch, which was great – amazing Vietnamese, and a great nightlife.  

It’s wonderful to be running a season at the Wonderground on Southbank as well – having such incredible venues in such close proximity creates an amazing environment to work (and play!).  

Run-Riot: Bike or car?
Ben Knapton: Bike on tour. Car at home.

Run-Riot: What would you like the audience to walk away with having seen Beyond?
Ben Knapton: Having been transformed. Good art is an opportunity to engage with the world in a different way, to learn, to meet new people and to be a different person when you leave. If audiences see the world differently and feel a sense of joy when they leave the show, then I think we have done our job.

Circa present
Beyond
at the London Wonderground
Southbank Centre
until 23 June
Info: londonwonderground.co.uk