BE SUBSERVIENT TO MY AMBITION
aA RADICAL ACT OF DEFIANCE
"Hooper's aerial straps routine is frantic, astonishingly quick and impossibly dexterous. To watch it is destroying.”
Rebekah Ellerby, A Younger Theatre
A radical act of defiance embodied through a woman’s ambition to ascend.
Placing the body in a simple yet uncompromising position of sustained suspension, Be Subservient To My Ambition explores power, submission, and endurance, in a pursuit of liberation that is perhaps, ultimately, unattainable. From the moment of the artists first suspension, a fluctuating dialogue emerges between the weightless yet distorted body, the straps as both liberator and restrainer, and verticality’s inherent power.
Performed entirely on straps, this work pairs an exceptional circus-informed physical performance (Bridie Hooper) with a unique surround sound composition (Kelly Ryall), to create an intimate, immersed, live-art experience.
Staged at the centre of a circle, the action unfolds on a single set of straps, surrounded by audiences in close proximity. A surround soundscape envelops the space, immersing the public as they witness the pursuit of this singular body as it twists, turns, coils and glides in a relentless effort to ascend.
This intimate arrangement offers a rare proximity to circus and a powerful perception of the tangible efforts of the body at work.
PAST SEASONS:
L’Autre Cirque - La Chapelle X Montréal Complètement Cirque -July 2026
Testing Site - Studio 1 - September 2025
Director, Choreographer, Performer- Bridie Hooper
Directorial Eye- Susie Dee
Composition and Sound Design- Kelly Ryall
Lighting Design - Jenny Hector
Costume Design/Creative Mentor- Libby McDonnell
Creative Mentors - Guillaume Biron, Billie Wilson-Coffey
"I was completely enraptured, but also at the edge of my seat with apprehension. Without doubt one of the most affecting physical performances I’ve ever seen.”
Audience Member
Be Subservient To My Ambition is supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia,
its arts funding and advisory body. We are grateful to have received
additional support from Women's Circus, the National Institute of Circus
Arts (NICA) and Circus Oz.