Circus strong woman collides with 80s tribute act in an explosion of circus strength and silliness.
Take on me, take me on!
Circus strong woman collides with 80s tribute act in an explosion of circus, strength and silliness.
The Iron Maiden, steps in and steps up and she’ll inspire you to do the same. Everyone can picture the traditional circus “strong man”, so let’s make it a strong girl and put her in 1988. There’s Hannah Cryle, the Iron Maiden. As society moves away from archaic traditions, so does the circus.
The Iron Maiden is a neon technicolour journey of circus, lip-synching, head banging and several costume changes. Hannah is exploring the notion of what it takes to be strong and brave, especially for a woman. She’ll awe and delight you with her feats of strength, aerial chains, skipping and hula-hoops, and leave you chuckling with her razor sharp wit and stage banter.
She reminds us all to take up space, take what’s yours, and take no prisoners. All while taking the mickey.
Take her on.
- Venue Format
- Theatre, Hall, Black Box Venue, Outdoor
- Technical Rating
- Touring Party
- 2
- Considerations
This show can be performed with or without aerial performance. The company can tour with a freestanding tripod structure for venues that cannot support aerials. The minimum space requirement for the structure is 5mx5m with 5m height clearance. Engineers certificate for the structure can be provided upon request. The company will be touring with a licensed rigger.
This show was PREVIOUSLY titled "The Loneliest Number". After careful deliberation the director opted to change the name to "The Iron Maiden" because it better represents the show.
Happy Haps Productions aims to improve the lives of women, girls and non-binary people through the arts by: 1) Building confidence and capability with community engagement activities. 2) Creating opportunities for people of femme aligned genders to participate in the arts. 3) Connecting and inspiring female and non-binary arts leaders.
- Company Website
- happyhapsproductions.com
Unique Selling Point
The show takes an intriguing archetypal character (The Circus Strong Woman) and puts her into an exciting and familiar world, the 1980s. It pairs traditional circus stunts, with 80s glam rock, ridiculousness and very big hair. Hannah has been lifting people up since she was just 9 years old when she was a founding member of Queensland's premier youth circus, Flipside Circus. She has developed a uniquely charming stage personal that leaves her audience feeling uplifted and motivated. Hannah is passionate about advocating for strong mums, and invites her audience to celebrate the everyday strong women in their own life.
Marketing Materials
PDF marketing pack, promotional footage, images, media release, posters, handbills, company bios, all available in sell off.
Community Engagement
Happy Haps Productions can deliver The Iron Maiden in conjunction the circus workshop: Go Ahead and Jump. Go Ahead and Jump is a program for girls and gender queer/questioning people aged 9-14yrs that builds confidence, grit and a growth mindset through participation in circus. The workshop draws on the well known and accepted premise that leadership capability is developed in childhood especially in the identity formation years of adolescence. Using the medium of physical activity and creativity it develops the leadership attributes of young femme aligned folk, and has been especially successful in regional Australia. The leadership skills the project targets include:
1) Communication
2) Assertiveness, including body autonomy
3) Self confidence and agency
4) Risk assessment and risk taking
5) Trust, teamwork and collaboration
The workshop is flexible in it's mode of delivery, it can be delivered over a half day, one week or several month engagement.
Go Ahead and Jump is also available for younger children of all genders under the aged of 10. In this format it is delivered in the form of a 60-90min circus class with a particular focus on the skills outlined above.
Comments/Reviews
Amanda (Private Booking)
Audience Review
Hannah was PERFECT. She pitched it perfectly for what we wanted: funny, sassy, clever, take-no-prisoners, interactive, impressive tricks - she was the box and dice. We had excellent feedback from our audience and were thrilled that the 70 kids (including all those boys) were literally jumping out of their seats to get to the equipment. Hannah got them excited and inspired.
Chloe Metcalfe
Media Review
Behind the costume changes, hula hooping, lip syncing, head banging and contemporary dance, Cryle has a very important message about respecting female performers and supporting the women around you in every day life....you’ll fall in love with her charismatic energy and loveable charm. (Read More)
Matt Wilson (Circus Oz)
Colleague Review
Charming and tough! A hilarious performance that swings between being perfectly measured and chaotically spontaneous, she has the audience eating out of her devil horned hand.