First of all, I’d love to know what first got you interested in the world of theatre and stage performance?
As long as I can remember I’ve craved the immediacy, the adrenaline, the challenge and the infinite capacity of the theatre. I think it’s always been more of a compulsion than an interest. I was eight when I performed in my first ballet concert, seven when I made my first hair ‘scrunchie’ with my mum’s sewing machine (macaroni pastings before then) and now I’m 33 and have co-directed my first circus show. This fascination and compulsion to create continues to drive me.

You have worn numerous hats throughout your career – designer, choreographer, performer and director. Was it always your intention to try your hand at so many things? What does this approach afford you creatively?
I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of brave people around to support me in my various roles. I think of my career mostly as a collaborator and artist and my role and the mediums I work with are shaped by the project. The common thread in my work is that it’s expressed through physical performance. I’m curious, restless and I am also a Gemini – and for those who are zodiac inclined, this will make sense.

When One Door Closes is an interesting concept – what can you tell us about how this show came together and the inspiration behind Circa taking it on in conjunction with La Boite?
I remember being at a sushi train with Yaron Lifschitz and Todd MacDonald when the conversation about this project began. Circa and La Boite Theatre company share many similarities including their bold, frontier approach to making work and the risky, challenging yet aspirational art they make. It is a reflection of our company’s respective, fearless leaders so it was a great match – the concept was risky and new, the sushi was delicious and the project synthesised from there.

You are co-directing the production with Yaron Lifschitz ­– what can you tell me of the approach you both took when it came to shaping how this production is presented?
I have been working with Yaron at Circa for 5 years and we have a dynamic creative relationship. We work with one another in the same way we work with the artists by creating interruptions, irritating and conjuring ideas with one another until we’ve found something authentic.

In your opinion, what do you think is the element that will engage audiences the most?
Our medium is circus – so I expect audiences to be enthralled by the trust and virtuosity of the performers – they are all exceptional. When One Door Closes is also the sum of many things. It’s a provocation, not an answer and I think precisely its complexity should simultaneously engage, delight and disarm.

What would you hope they take away from the production?
I hope they experience a range of complex emotions, thoughts and reactions.

What was the most challenging element of putting this show together?
The challenge was the question ‘can a circus company make a work for theatre?’ and then negotiating and interrogating our work through this lens as well as our own.

What can you tell us about how costume design for physical performance differs from traditional staged theatre? What do you need to be mindful of and what might audiences not know about its impact on the performance?
Design for circus has technical requirements that need to be met for safety of the artists and to allow them to do what they do. Sometimes the design might initially challenge these conventions and we continue to push these boundaries. I am really lucky to work with an ensemble that is always willing to try something new. In When One Door Closes they all wear sequinned shorts. I’ve never used sequins before, they tend to shred skin and get destroyed very quickly. The particular fabric we used has individually sewn sequins (so if one falls off they don’t all fall off) and given the physical material in the show, the artists knew they could do a season of shows with only minimal sequin exfoliation – plus their shorts are lined to avoid scratchy bottoms. The innovation of design for circus is often fabric choice and intense pattern augmentations to make a pair of trousers look like a simple pair of trousers yet be as durable as workman’s pants and as stretchy as yoga pants.

You’ve working on numerous productions in various roles, what would you say is your greatest career achievement to date?
My first co-directing experience with Circa this year When One Door Closes, seeing my costumes on stage at the Barbican Theatre in London recently for Circa’s production The Return and as I write I’m in London with Circa designing and choreographing for our new creation Depart for LIFT Festival later this year.

What is inspiring you lately?
I recently read an incredible article about an artist Niki de Saint Phalle which was significantly inspiring, the people I get to work with every day, my older sister Jill who is about to give birth any day now and of course Yaron Lifschitz…I dare anyone to not be inspired by him!

When One Door Closes is being staged at La Boite until Saturday April 23. To grab tickets to one of the final shows head to the La Boite website.