Lyon – 29.05.2026: For the 80th anniversary of the Nuits de Fourvière, the Australian circus company Circa is ensuring the opening of this traditional cultural festival in Lyon for the first time. With their latest production “Seeing the Stars Again,” the company presents an emotional world premiere, eagerly awaited by the audience. Circa has established itself in recent years as an essential figure at the festival through six performances and thus returns to the stage in 2026 for the third time with a new production. The decision to open the anniversary program with this performance highlights the special esteem given to the poetic aesthetics and emotional depth of Australian circus art.
“Seeing the Stars Again” takes the audience on a poetic journey between dream and reality. The production skillfully combines dance, acrobatics, and theater in the staging, creating fluid boundaries between these forms. The show captivates with a play of lights, movements, and a sensitive musical composition that intensifies the intimate atmosphere. Circa tells a story of desire and departure in this production through subtle gestures and a powerful presence.
The Nuits de Fourvière are recognized as a festival celebrating cultural diversity and artistic innovation. Every year, the festival brings together theater, music, dance, and circus in open-air settings. The choice of Circa as the opening act testifies to the great respect and growing collaboration between the company and the festival. Circa constantly reinvents the standards of poetic circus on a global scale.
The festival director, Carole Pinet, emphasizes the emotional impact of Circa’s creations: “Their productions open spaces for delicate nuances and demonstrate how profoundly circus can touch.” In a context where the search for an authentic artistic language is paramount, “Seeing the Stars Again” offers an opportunity for an intense collective experience.
With this premiere, a new dimension of the festival opens up to the Lyon audience and beyond, showing how circus as a universal language connects generations and cultures. With its piece, Circa invites us to rediscover the stars – finding hopes and memories within them.
Although the Australian company has been invited to the festival several times before, every premiere remains a moment of surprise and collective joy. The 2026 anniversary will thus be not only a celebration of tradition but also of artistic renewal and discovery.
“Seeing the Stars Again” also reflects the dynamics of the experimental circus scene, whose global importance has increased in recent years. Lyon thus confirms its role as a major stage for artistic universes that touch and inspire beyond borders.
Sources
- franceinfo
- The Nuits de Fourvière