Bunbury acrobat returns with the circus

The acrobat, musician and stuntman first encountered the wonders of the circus when he was just six years old when he said his dad came home one day with two tickets to the Ashton Circus.

“It’ll be good to get back to Bunbury, it’s my area, I really consider that to be home,” he said.

“It’s where I first encountered the circus and it’s led me down this path.”

It was that trip to the circus that thrilled him in a way he hopes he and his fellow performers can thrill audiences in Bunbury when they make their way here in September.

“After that show I remember saying I want to be an acrobat, but I became an actor and performer and the circus came a bit later,” he said.

“In the meantime I’d been acting and was in a few bands.”

But once the circus finally did come around it began to take him to some strange amazing places.

From the trapeze, and high falls to group juggling acts involving 20 clubs complicated and physics defying acts are his specialty.

But the most intense stunt Matt has undertaken was by far his stint as a human cannon ball.

Matt said the show stopping act was scary and required a lot of trust in the cannon.

“The cannon was strange mix of terrifying and fun at the same time, it was definitely an interesting thing to do,” he said.

“When you’re performing you have to have a lot of trust in your fellow performers and I do, but with the cannon I had to trust entirely on the machine, which is a tough thing to do.

“Sometimes I get quite imaginative and creative with my with my act but then sometimes I have to take a step back and think wow that’s really dangerous and the cannon was dangerous.

“There’s a difference between a daredevil and an acrobat so it has to be sustainable.”

Matt said they cram a lot of different acts into their performance at Circus Oz.

“The show is a real feature, I draw a lot of inspiration by vaudevillian performances, there’s a great diversity among the acts and it’s going to be a great time.”

TWENTYSIXTEEN is a refreshing cocktail of new and old, innovation and tradition.

The turbo-charged acrobats bring amazing new skill and wizardry to the flying trapeze, the Chinese pole and unicycle adagio.

A brand new group-juggling act is sure to drop jaws as 21 clubs duck and weave from acrobat to acrobat.

TWENTYSIXTEEN will be at BREC on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4.

Tickets are available at bunburyentertainment.com