Two Legacies

After the first Flying Fruit Fly Circus (FFFC) show in 1979, the Murray River Performing Group (MRPG) were keen to continue working with the children who had made it such a success.

To build their skills further, the group invited some big names in Australian circus arts to become trainers, including Pixi and Jim Anderson (also founding members of Circus Oz) and Micky Ashton, of the famous ‘Ashton’s Family Circus’ (the longest surviving circus in Australia). With their additional expertise, the group were able to facilitate programming that resulted in performances for years to come.

This wooden sign was used to direct visitors between the offices of the MRPG and the FFFC in Albury. Clearly the performing group and the circus had a close working relationship, but they soon needed to become separate entities as their responsibilities changed.

In 1987, after the ‘Fruities’ had managed to tour internationally and receive world-first training from a Chinese acrobatic group, the Fruit Flies Acrobatic Arts Community School officially opened. The full-time circus school combined academic study with professional training – an innovative model that continues to be the only one of its kind in Australia to this day.

However, by the mid-1990s, the success of the MRPG had waned and declining audience numbers put pressure on the group. After losing government funding in 1996, something had to give.

In 1997, the organisation relaunched as HotHouse Theatre and moved their premises to the other side of the Murray, in neighbouring Wodonga. Today, HotHouse Theatre continues to be recognised as one of the largest professional theatre companies in Victoria.

This means the MRPG were responsible for creating two regional arts organisations with incredible longevity. Somehow, they made lightning strike twice.