This June, get ready for the return of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s Flipside festival, with a series of programmes that showcase the lighter side of the arts, from puppetry to circus, physical theatre to comedy. Joy and delight is at the heart of these productions, as these artists utilise absurdity and humour to find the beauty or depth in the everyday.

This year’s line-up of productions turn the focus to paying homage to the ordinary object, whether these are items we encounter at home or at work in our daily routines. In Stars in Our Eyes: Star Show (France), tin cans, tangled wire and kitchen tiles form the obstacles in a treacherous journey of an astronaut, while the double bill also features Love of Risk, where a man is waiting to be served for a candle-lit dinner accompanied by romantic music, while robots move about randomly and come and go in the space, creating a hypnotic dance.

In Ta Lent Show (Thailand), a cushion, slipper and wastepaper bin tell poignant stories of nature and human relationships. When these objects appear in exaggerated proportions or are found in spaces least expected, they rouse us from our daily stupor, and bring a smile to any audience member’s face.

Big Mob (Australia/UK) features larger-than-life, hyperflexible slinkies that will pop up along the Esplanade Waterfront. Looking strangely like aircon ducts, this roving show fuses highly-choreographed performance art alongside bewitching audience interactions, determined to have a good time with you and will corner you if you try to escape.

In The Distraction (Australia), object manipulation, physical humour, live cameras and green screens collide. The Umbilical Brothers take the energy of live performance and the spectacle of cinema and smash them together into a new show performed simultaneously on stage and on the big screen, blending physical comedy and humour with cinematic special effects. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen, and nothing they’ve ever done, and it will blow your mind way more literally than you are expecting. 

Whether they are juggling clubs, the Cyr wheel or aerial silks, circus artists use their apparatus as an extension of their bodies to express an idea or convey a feeling. One Two, One Two (South Korea) takes the rola bola to the next level in a story of compromise and balance between friends. In a delightful ode to the power of teamwork, this performance beautifully illustrates the essence of finding harmony and mutual support in the tumultuous journey of life. Through a whimsical narrative filled with twists and turns, the audience is invited to be a part of this hilarious adventure. 

In Thingamabob (UK) self-made slings and pulley systems form the backdrop of an absurd quest to find the hardest way to juggle. With an internationally renowned blend of circus, invention and humour, PanGottic brings to life a giant ball-slinging, self-exploding piece of handcrafted gadgetry, inspired by the famous Rube Goldberg machines and Heath Robinson contraptions.

Whatever you attend, you can be sure to be engaged and active as a spectator and participant as well, whether pouring water from a jug while suspended in the air like in Flou Papagayo (Spain) or holding onto the ropes keeping a Chinese pole upright like in Polosseum (South Korea). And beyond the fun and games, perhaps letting go and attending with such lightness in one’s heart is precisely what Flipside offers, as you open yourself to new points of view and possibilities, and use the arts as a way of seeing the world around us in a new, joyous light.

Flipside 2024 plays from 31st May to 9th June 2024 at the Esplanade. Tickets and full programme available here