Legs On The Wall


Legs On The Wall is an Australian physical theatre company based in Sydney.
Formed in 1984, Legs On The Wall's performances combine acrobatics with dance, circus skills and technology. It creates aerial outdoor shows and theatre productions, performing within Australia and internationally.
Legs On The Wall received the 1994 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for a group. Its production On the Case was named Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production at the 2006 Helpmann Awards.

History

Legs on the Wall began in a warehouse called 'Beta House' in Newtown, an inner-city suburb of Sydney.
Two warehouses in Newtown had been taken over by artists in the early 1980s. One floor in Beta House became the circus/physical theatre section. Kerry Dwyer, a director and actor from Melbourne had started this particular space with Tim Coldwell. They invited Brian Keogh, Thor Blomfield, and Oliver Lejus to train with them. This led to a rapidly expanding network of physical performers turning up every day to work out and rehearse for shows.
Around the same period, a training project with Nanching Acrobats called 'The Great Leap Forward' occurred at the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury, NSW. The Beta House group adapted the basic training methods of this project. This started with an intense leg stretch involving everyone placing their legs on the window ledge for a count of 32. The catch phrase became 'meeting for legs on the wall' at 8.