Strange Fruit is a Melbourne-based performing arts company that produces and performs a remarkable style of work that fuses theatre, dance and circus, using a unique elevated medium. Perched atop 4 metre high flexible poles of original design, the troupe delivers a sublime performance, bending and swaying in the air, captivating and engaging the audience in absolute fascination. Originally based on the image of a field of wheat swaying in the breeze, the poles’ extreme strength and flexibility allow the performer to bow to impossible angles, swaying back and forth in a hypnotising dance as the audience looks up in wonder.

With a world-renowned repertoire that celebrates a wide variety of themes and stories, the company has achieved near-cult status in almost every continent across the globe. Performing regularly at festivals, special events and private functions, their sublime, hypnotic beauty is truly remarkable and must be experienced to appreciate its full effect.

Around the world Due to the dialogue-free nature of the work and its ability to speak to people across all divides, the company’s repertoire is extremely popular with international audiences and most of the company’s work is performed overseas, resulting in the development of tightly synchronised logistics and tour management professionals. At any one time, there can be performances taking place on three different continents. The company’s dedicated team of performers, crew, touring staff, board and management have seen the company go from strength to strength since its inception in 1994.

The Field

Eight characters enact an intriguing ritual of courtship and discovery,

breaking hearts and bending poles to impossible angles. The message of

love, freedom, loneliness and joy are played out and take the audience on a journey of beauty and laughter.

The Spheres

Creation, exultation, liberation, life, the universe and everything. The

Spheres take a whimsical look at physics, the miracle of birth and

humanity’s existential relationship to our planet. Giant, illuminated orbs of

luminous beauty contain characters that gradually emerge to stand and

rise above their spheres of existence. This piece is beautiful, reverent and sublime.

The Three Belles

Seductive and charming, the Three Belles transport the audience into a

dreamlike world of period charm and frivolity. Through a whirlwind of dance and movement, they transcend past, present and future as they bewitch and enchant their admirers.

Swoon!

In this abridged version of The Field, four daredevils tell a spectacular story of love, loss, joy and freedom up on high. Swoon is a vital, spirited

performance with spectacular image-making and seductive comedy.

Angels

After hundreds of years standing in complete stillness, two Angels take their first breath and discover how to fly. Angels is about youth, beauty and bravado. Filled with spectacular stunts and a gorgeous love story, it delights in the arc between two deaths, between stillness and movement.

Absolute Pearl

A world of faded splendour in which lingering memories, haunted by past

glories, confused and exaggerated by the passing of time, is brought vividly to life through a rich carousel of dance, drama and visual beauty. A sublime response to a world that has begun to lose its sense of romance.

Cupidity

An allegory of conflict for kids of all ages, the Cupies are a famous

fairground act, a bit like giant Cupie dolls, a bit like Teletubbies and a bit

like nothing you’ve ever seen before. They love to perform their music box routine, so when things start to go wrong, their harmonious relationship crumbles and they literally tear each other apart. Horrified by what conflict has done to them they reconcile in the most heartfelt way possible.