The Spiegeltent is back in Wollongong.
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And on opening night, as if by miracle, the sky was clear of rain. The fairy lights around the trees twinkled and no one was wearing masks. The sequins the audience had been asked to wear sparkled, and people stood shoulder to shoulder eating and drinking.
When the tent opened, hundreds of people rushed inside, bumping into each other, breathing the same air.
What floods? What pandemic? It could have been 2019.
There was no allocated seating in the Spiegeltent, but the stage felt close enough to touch no matter where you are.
And when the performers entered, you could see the hairs on their legs standing up and watch their breath hitch in the naked, sparse lights.
Peepshow, by renowned modern circus performers Circa, is opening this year's Spiegeltent season, and will be on until Saturday.
While its title might suggest a traditional burlesque show, the stripped back performance is more a show of the incredible strength of the human body.
It's eight performers on a stage, which is bare except for a curtain of silver spangles. Traditional circus acts like trapeze, contortion and "strongman" style pyramids are combined with silent, suggestive humour and modern dance.
The costumes are gender neutral: to start everyone wears bed hair, sparkly black hotpants and a crisp white shirt. It's sexy, but not in an obvious way.
The closeness of the stage inside the tent adds to the intimacy of the show: as the performers flex, twist and lift their bodies, you can see their muscles twitch and hear their breath exhale.
After two years spent mostly at home, avoiding contact with real people, or hidden behind a mask in the supermarket - this feels like a revelation. Turns out people are amazing.
And perhaps it's this that stood out more than anything.
For the creative and cultural industries, COVID-19 has been a very dark time.
Galleries, museums, theatres and cinemas have been closed for months on end. Festivals, shows and tours were cancelled and incomes disappeared.
Performers, like the ones baring all on the Spiegeltent stage, have had no one to play to.
Even after government mandates were lifted, some people were reluctant to return for fear of catching the virus.
But now, finally, life is coming back - and in Wollongong it's no different.
As I got dressed to head out to the opening night, my three year old - who was just over one when the pandemic began and is only just twigging that adults might have a life after 7pm - watched me with interest.
I swapped my usual uniform of black activewear for a red sequinned skirt with lipstick to match. When I got upstairs, she was engrossed in eating her dinner. But she turned around and said "mum, can i see, can I look?"
"Look at what?" I said.
"At you."
How amazing to have the opportunity to dress up and head out, to explore the city after dark. To be able to sit close to strangers and watch artists perform.
For the performers, the theatre, this town, and for yourself after so long, buy a ticket and go out and watch something.
If the past three years - when it's felt like the disasters have just kept coming - are anything to go by, you have to seize these opportunities while you can.
The Spiegeltent season runs until March 27.
Peepshow is one of three main shows for the Spiegeltent season, which also include Bernie Dieter's Club Kabarett and Purple Rabbit from Strut and Fret (the makers of previous shows like Deluxe Deluxe).
Other shows on throughout the month include Aboriginal Comedy Allstars, Christine Anu and Mechanical Mayhem - involving slapstick, stunts and spectacular fun for kids and families.
For the full program and tickets visit: https://www.spiegeltentwollongong.com/
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
