By a Thread offers rich visuals of inventive aerial acrobatics from some of Australia’s best circus artists. With intense training in a breadth of contemporary circus disciplines, the performers have pooled their knowledge and skills and then exploded the traditional boundaries of these disciplines to create a show where classic techniques are used in expansive ways.

Long spools of white rope run through pulley sheaves and wrap around bodies, explicitly connecting the artists’ movements above and off the ground. Like the booms and sheets of a sailing ship, the performers are hoisted and swung by one another to create striking tableaux and breath-taking dynamics. The actions of one acrobat affect and implicate the movements of others in a precise negotiation of cause and effect.