In April 2025, Kat and Antonia from Think Circus visited Junges Theatre Munster and WHEELS, as part of the Cultural Bridge exchange programme, funded by Creative Scotland, Fonds Sociokultur and Arts Council England.
We’ve just returned from our trip and feeling so grateful for the inspiration and seeds of future collaboration that have been planted. During our five days in Munster, we:
- Watched two youth theatre productions, one for teenagers and one for toddlers (Flying).
- Observed two show development processes
- Taught two masterclasses for young people and for theatre professionals
- Participated in a discussion about community theatre
- Supported teaching and integration of circus elements in a youth theatre production
Alongside this programme of activities we had many useful discussions, particularly exploring what commonalities we have, our processes for creation of new work, how we create and sustain community through theatre and circus, and potential for future collaborations. Some emerging themes included:
- How we all create our work varies a lot individually, and we all draw from a variety of different practices. In theatre, it’s historically based on text and this forms the basis, but productions are differentiated by how they choose to present the work – in the words of the assistant director ‘they start with a vibe’. In circus, which is in many ways closer to dance, we will likely begin with a technique or an area of research. Circus theatre, in the way it’s most commonly seen in the UK, is drawing on both of these backgrounds. There is a tension between choosing to primarily focus on narrative, or to primarily focus on technique, and circus artists will locate themselves on different gradient points between the two. The Munster theatre embraces many different styles of theatre and sometimes combines two or three in one production. We discussed how circus theatre can sometimes be simpler in theatrical elements; this concentrates emphasis on skill.
- The development process for new production called ‘Die Erste Schrift’ at the Munster Theatre, included interviews with children at multiple schools, recording sessions with children reading the text, building of sets and making of costumes by dedicated teams, improvisation sessions led by a director and actors together, and creation of original music. When creating productions at Think Circus, we never have this level of resources, and so it prompted the question – what would we do if we had unlimited time and resources? A big limitation for us on current projects is affordable rehearsal space, as well as the funds to pay artists for longer rehearsal/creation periods. Having more time to integrate more elements of narrative, and including more people in the creation process, would be on the wish list!
- We shared our different approaches to place-led shows. Think Circus has run several projects where we use an outdoor public space as the setting for parades, performances and workshops. Theatre Munster and WHEELS were interested in having more outdoor activities and we discussed how our approach works to bring circus to people who might not discover it. MT shared how they have seen the community around their youth theatre grow during the last few years and that they see it growing into something bigger than the rehearsals – people come earlier, stay longer, leave together. We all agreed food is a great bonding ingredient for community theatre/circus!
We have lots of discussion still to digest and share, but leave our time in Munster with full brains ready to look at how we can integrate some of the practices and approaches we have seen at home in Scotland. Next month, we’ll be hosting a visit from the Munster and WHEELS delegates in Edinburgh, and will be seeing how these ideas can progress and evolve. For now, tschuss!
