Jesse Scott is a member of the internationally renowned circus company Casus who have brought their show Knee Deep to London's Riverside Studios. Through bold, quirky and captivating performance the four members of Casus: Emma Serjeant, Jesse Scott, Natano Fa’anana and Lachlan McAulay bring a wealth of knowledge and experience into this innovative work, having previously performed extensively in Australia and around the world with C!RCA, Legs on the Wall, Polytoxic and Briefs. Knee Deep sees bodies pushed and pulled, weighed and tested, probing the limits of both physicality and feeling.
Jesse is a graduate of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus where he spent 11 years training and touring under a selection of the world’s greatest circus trainers. After graduating in 2004 he toured as a freelance performer working with companies including Legs on the Wall, A4 Circus Ensemble, Candy Stripe Circus and The Australian Opera. He has also performed with the Brewarrina Youth Circus and Flipside Circus. In 2008 Jesse became a full time ensemble member with Circa, Australia’s leading contemporary Circus. He worked with the company for three years touring internationally and performing at some of the world’s most prestigious venues. Some of his highlights with Circa include: two seasons at the Barbican Theatre, La Tohu in Montreal, opening and headlining the Montreal Circus Festival and Dublin International Theatre Festival, New York Skirball Centre for the Performing Arts, Galway International Arts Festival and The Sydney Opera House.
Are you excited to bring Knee Deep to London?
Yes, we arrived in London straight from the Brighton Fringe Festival which was a great place to start our tour of Knee Deep. We are looking forward to being in London for the next month, particularly if the weather improves!
Yes it has. It’s quite important that the show continues to evolve, adding new tricks, changing sequences and so on. If we don’t do this, as performers we could get a bit bored which would be noticed by the audience. We are very honest on stage and find it hard to hide things so it’s very important that we change things from time to time. At the moment we are working on some new sequences to add into the show which keeps us excited.
What makes this show different from a ‘normal’ circus show?
The main thing is that we give a human face to circus, we don’t hide anything, we make it true – this is our world and what we do day to day and we want the audience to have a glimpse of that. We created our company a year and a half ago and this is our first work. We don’t have a director, it’s just the four of us, so the show is like our baby and we nurture it and take enormous pride in it. We need it to be right.
Does the show sit nicely in Studio 2 at Riverside Studios?
We have changed the theatre around quite a bit, putting the stage in the centre with the audience sitting all around us which brings them nice and close to the action. We prefer to perform in an intimate space, although in Brighton we were appearing at the Theatre Royal which seats 900 people. It actually worked quite well, you could say we like throwing a trick and getting the audience involved.
From the photos I have seen Knee Deep looks fairly dangerous, just how dangerous is it for you?
The nature of circus is that it is physical and we like to push the limits of the human body. We don’t just put a different spin on tricks that have been done before but change things around and do things quite differently which makes it dangerous for us. Of course we take precautions to prevent anything going wrong as with only four of us we can’t afford for anything to happen to one of us. We warm up and stretch before the show and go over some of the tricks which might have been a bit wobbly to ensure that we will be as safe as possible. However, the nature of the work is that something could happen at any time which, of course, adds a dimension to the show as people want to see an element of danger which gives them a thrill.
What’s it like being part of such a small group? You must have developed a very close bond?
Yes we are best friends and love each other enormously! We train together, we tour together, we do shows together, we work together, we even hang out together - even when we are at home we end up all going to the pub together! People I've spoken to who have seen the show have said how they are moved by the obvious connection between the four of us on stage. They can see that we really care about each other. It’s great, I get to travel the world with the people I love!
What is it like performing to different audiences all over the world? Do you get different responses to Knee Deep?
Yes, definitely. I really enjoy performing in the UK and Europe as there seems to be a strong understanding and respect for the arts. In Australia we are more of a sporting culture but here people really want to go out to see art and go to the theatre which I respect because it’s what I like to do as well.
Where are you off to next?
We are going to Norway first, then France, then we return to the UK to perform in Wales, Galway, finally ending the tour in Edinburgh.
Have you been doing this all your life?
I’ve been in the circus environment since I was 3 months old, growing up in a youth circus in Australia. I was lucky enough to be in the premier youth circus in Australia with world class performers who trained me. I got to tour the world at a really young age and was exposed to many amazing people and an amazing art and culture. I’ve never really looked elsewhere because I’m still so intrigued and enthusiastic for the art form of circus.
Finally, why should people come and see Knee Deep?
If people want to be moved, touched and thrilled, and if people want a great night out, those are all good reasons to come and see the show. It’s a human circus.
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Knee Deep runs at Riverside Studios (Studio 2) until 22nd June 2013.
Visit www.riversidestudios.co.uk for further information and to book tickets.
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