Inspired by the early shows of Archaos and Cirque du Soleil, Mamaloucos were formed in 1996 as an answer to the lack of large scale new circus work in the UK.

Our purpose has always been to create work based on circus that throws out the rulebook and starts again. We quickly gained a reputation for shows which created an irreverent unpredictable world that was sometimes hilarious, sometimes beautiful, sometimes moving. The company not only defied gravity but also marketing theory in that the audiences were often an uncanny alliance of pensioners moved to tears and houses of cheering,20-30 olds. Circus and equipment were frequently used in the 'wrong' way and the performers were often in the 'wrong' place (in the audience).

The Birds project began in 2001 when we asked Kathryn Hunter to make a piece of circus theatre with the idea of taking our work in a new direction. Kathryn proposed a show based around the Birds by Aristophanes and the adventure began!

Where other circus companies have flirted with theatre in their collaborations, the Birds has become a full blown affair between the two worlds, combining the two in a way that we have certainly never seen before.

The collaboration with the National Theatre has enabled the work to be made and performed as part of the Transformations season. This is the first time the National Theatre have collaborated with a Contemporary Circus company.

Matthew Churchill - Producer for Mamaloucos