“Balance: Balancing Secrets. Juggling Trust.”

Two performers, two steel beer kegs, and a path of empty glass bottles.

In Balance, Brainfools transforms this vintage confinement into a breathtaking playground. Stripping away traditional circus apparatus, the duo utilises a landscape of “found objects”: heavy industrial kegs, a rickety wooden plank, and fragile glass bottles.

Through a seamless fusion of fluid choreography and high-stakes partner acrobatics, they reclaim these items, transforming them from static stock into instruments of connection. What starts as a wary standoff melts into a high-energy game of risk and reliance.

Witness a visual feast of resilience as they toss heavy weights with effortless grace, climb shifting towers, and navigate a nerve-wracking path atop glass bottles. At its heart, Balance is a life-affirming story about how we support each other when the ground feels shaky—proving that even strangers can find equilibrium when the world tips over.

About the company

Brainfools is a UK-based contemporary circus company committed to creating innovative performances that resonate with diverse audiences. They push the boundaries of circus by blending physical theatre, storytelling, and upcycled aesthetics to create rich, layered experiences that transcend language barriers.

Jared Shanks – Co-Artistic Director(Brainfools) & Performer (ich-duO)
Jared is a versatile circus artist and co-founder of Brainfools. With a background in sports biomechanics and flying trapeze, he brings technical precision to his performance. As one half of ich-duO, his work is driven by a desire to create supportive environments, exploring themes of trust and physical reliance through dynamic partner acrobatics and object manipulation.

Toffy Paulweber – Co-Artistic Director (Brainfools) & Performer (ich-duO)
Toffy is a contemporary circus artist and co-founder of Brainfools. A graduate of the National Centre for Circus Arts, he specializes in bottle-walking and acrobatics. Drawing from his own journey of finding his path in a new country and personal resilience, Toffy creates deeply personal work that transforms ordinary objects into symbols of hope and overcoming obstacles.

Additional information

Duration: 55 mins

Age guidance: 7+

Content warning: Flash effect

Pre-show touch tour available upon request. Please email annaruth.peelcusson@exeterphoenix.org.uk with ‘Balance Touch Tour’ in the subject line to book your place. Touch tours give visually impaired theatre-goers and audience members with learning differences or other sensory and communication needs the opportunity to touch the sets, props and costumes to familiarise themselves ahead of the performance.

To get the £40 family offer – please select two £16 recommended price tickets AND two child tickets and the offer will appear at the checkout.

Venue: Auditorium, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>