#since1994 - Fringe World 2026

Reviewed by Caroline Stafford

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Nowadays, a circus act is not a rare thing, but shows like #since1994 certainly stand out from the rest. With an all-female cast, this stripped-back Taiwanese contemporary troupe, Eye Catching Circus, focuses on telling stories of modern femininity and struggle through the physical exertion of female bodies. Choreographer Mei Chih-Ling creates a story where performers very literally use their awesome acrobatics as a metaphor for the social challenges and expectations placed on women in the modern world. 

The show features a balance of series and comedic numbers, set to a backdrop of enveloping electronic harmonies, all original music from all female composers, with minimal sets and staging. While none of the costumes are particularly elaborate, they evolve throughout the show to add subtle depth to each new section. For example, in the beginning, you are greeted by characters dressed in skin-like leotards wrapped with long red lines, almost resembling a fetus just out of the womb, but at the height of the show, each woman wears an almost showgirl-like bodysuit with differing amounts of frivolous embellishment. These small shifts are little cues to the audience, along with some additional props, that don’t seek to scream a bigger meaning at the audience, but instead invite them to take their own deeper meaning from the work. 

Physically, the act includes acrobatics, juggling (with both hands and feet), dance, comedy and obviously large amounts of crowd work; it is, after all, a Fringe show. But that is not what makes this show a multiple award winner across Europe and Adelaide Fringes. It’s the deeper meaning. Hinted at with costumes and props but conveyed chiefly through the twinging and twisting of their bodies, these five young women invite us to deliberate different aspects of youth and womanhood. The title should clue you in: #since1994 - all the performers are born in or after the titular year. There are stories of competition and sisterhood told entirely without words - the performers oscillating between independent and cacophonously out of sync movements to suddenly snapping into harmony and moving as seemingly one mind. While clearly there is much left up to interpretation, you can also see flickers of stories about empowerment, beauty standards, self-doubt, community support and exclusion. Refreshingly, none of it feels too cliche or trite. It has just the perfect balance of sincerity and harmony. 

Audience members went from chuckling to audibly gasping throughout the show as the performers flipped and tossed themselves, each other and even whole tables through the air. However, many people left with a tear in their eye as the five young women bared their souls on the hard wooden floor. Never before has this performer encountered a circus with quite so much intimacy and vulnerability. It is really one to add to your 2026 ‘Must Watch’ list this Fringe season.

Reviewer Note: Tickets for this review were provided by the production company.