Duck Pond is landing in Melbourne this summer, bringing ballet, circus and a good dose of cheek to the Princess Theatre from 14 January 2026. Circa’s genre-bending production has already packed out London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Melbourne audiences will be able to see it at the Princess Theatre from 14-25 January 2026.
A reimagining of Swan Lake and The Ugly Duckling, Duck Pond throws out the rulebook. Classical ballet collides with contemporary circus, creating a mash-up of romance, acrobatics and theatrical spectacle. One moment it’s poised and graceful, the next it’s raw, risky and playful.
The work is created by Circa’s Artistic Director and CEO Yaron Lifschitz, who this year received the International Society for the Performing Arts Distinguished Artist Award. His vision takes familiar stories and refashions them into something unpredictable – bridging the beauty of ballet with the high-wire daring of circus.
Audiences can expect soaring aerial work, jaw-dropping physicality, and Circa’s trademark sense of humour threaded through it all. It’s a production designed to keep you off balance, equal parts dazzling artistry and wild invention.
Circa itself has become one of Australia’s most globally recognised performance companies. Based in Brisbane but forever on the move, the ensemble has performed for more than two million people in 45 countries across six continents. Their reputation comes from pushing circus into new territory – stripping it of gimmicks and leaning into raw strength, vulnerability and artistry.
Duck Pond continues that path, offering a performance that’s as moving as it is athletic. Melbourne’s Princess Theatre will be transformed into a stage where fairy tales are flipped, ballet is upended, and circus finds new form.
The Sydney Opera House season opens 9 January before the Melbourne run kicks off 14 January. For those looking to start the year with something bold, physical and a little bit mischievous, Duck Pond promises a night at the theatre like no other.
Tickets available from 4 September, 10am at duckpondmelbourne.com.au.
