Circus Oz

[2][3] The founding members were: Sue Broadway, Tony Burkys, Tim Coldwell, John ‘Jack’ Daniel, Laurel Frank, Kelvin Gedye, Jon Hawkes, Ponch Hawkes, Robin Laurie, John Pinder, Michael Price, Alan Robertson, Jim Robertson, Pixie Roberstson, Helen Sky, Jim Conway, Mic Conway, Rick Ludbrook, Peter Mulheisen, Gordon McLean, Steve Cooney and Colin Stevens.

[4][5] Significant developments in Circus Oz's early years included: a 32-week season in 1979 at the Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant in Melbourne; the company's first international tour in 1980 (including London's Roundhouse, Belgium and New Guinea); the "Nanjing Project" (Chinese acrobatic master classes); and the group's relations with The Flying Fruit Fly Circus.

During her time at the helm she was responsible for the development of Circus Oz Classes, High Flying Teams and Indigenous programs, and laid the preparations for a move to new premises at Collingwood.

The founders wanted to create a "contemporary circus" (words used in their show programme "history" as early as 1980[1]), with elements of rock'n'roll, popular theatre and satire.

[1] Circus Oz performed in at least 27 countries across five continents, including four seasons on 42nd Street in New York City, a number of seasons at Queen Elizabeth and Royal Festival Halls in London, a refugee camp in the West Bank, Indigenous communities in the Australian desert and a glass opera house in the Brazilian rainforest.

[1] Until 2017, the company employed a full-time ensemble of 12 performers (an equal number of men and women), plus a technical crew, production and artistic departments.

The buildings are approximately half of an abandoned college campus, the remainder of which was converted by Arts Victoria into a multi-arts and community precinct known as Collingwood Yards, which opened in March 2021.

The proposal involved recreating its board and membership with a reduced proportion of artists and former employees (a move that would be fundamentally against the company's ethos).