TO Live to present Recirquel’s Paradisum in Toronto
iPhoto caption: Kateryna Larina in Paradisum. Photo by Bálint Hirling.
Next week, a circus-dance hybrid will swing into the Bluma Appel Theatre as part of TO Live’s 2025-26 season.
Created and directed by Bence Vági, Paradisum is the third work in a loose trilogy that includes Solus Amor and IMA. The productions respond to questions about humanity’s relationship to love, spirituality, and nature, with Paradisum addressing the idea of regeneration following environmental collapse.
The show follows a group of characters navigating fear and survival as they decide between remaining separated from nature or reconnecting with it. An original score from composer Edina Szirtes brings the work’s mythic and elemental world to life.
Visually, Paradisum features a large-scale, movable set piece developed by costume designer Emese Kasza in collaboration with technical director Tamás Vladár. Performers manipulate the perforated plastic-based fabric live onstage using a system of winches, allowing the set to shift shape throughout the performance.
The cast includes six performers from Hungary, Ukraine, and Ethiopia. Each artist performs a featured solo, alongside ensemble sections that blend contemporary dance and circus techniques.
Paradisum is currently touring internationally, with multiple Canadian engagements, and will be presented in Toronto as part of TO Live’s dance programming. Performance dates and ticket information are available here.
TO Live is an Intermission partner. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
Krystal Abrigo
Krystal is Intermission's Publishing and Editorial Coordinator. A Scarborough-based writer of Philippine and Egyptian descent who enjoys reading bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin. At any given moment, you can probably find her at a concert, or on a long walk somewhere in Toronto (or elsewhere).
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