The mayor of Montréal opened the 2018 Montréal Completement Cirque Festival with a speech that lauded the city as “la capitale mondiale du cirque” –the world capital of circus.

The world capital. A rousing sentiment for sure, but it gave me pause. Perhaps it’s true right now, but will Montréal hold this title forever? Or is another rising superpower waiting in the wings to usurp the empire? Just biding its time, gathering its forces until the time is right to flex some muscle and take its rightful place as the jewel in the crown of the international circus scene? I’m talking, of course, about Australia. Think about it. Australia has nearly everything Montréal has; an elite circus-specific training institution, a busy eco-system of companies, freelancers and youth circus organizations. It has a growing audience hungry for new work and proud of what their local companies bring to the table. The bigger companies are the stars of the international festival circuit, and now audiences worldwide are beginning to understand what Au...