About Upswing

Upswing was founded in 2004 by Artistic Director Vicki Amedume. Having trained as an aerialist at The French National Circus School Chalon en Champagne and at Circus Space London, Vicki performed and created traditional and contemporary circus work as well as outdoor performance and touring theatre. After working with UK companies such as Scarabeus and Skinning The Cat, as well as international companies including Universoul Circus, the inception of Upswing was driven by a desire to create cross artform work that uses circus skills as an expressive vehicle.

The company takes the approach that serious, everyday and cultural issues can be explored in an entertaining way through circus and that it is important to engage with people on many levels – visually, emotionally, intellectually – to exploit circus’ full potential as an art form. The combination of physical skills and cultural contexts to tell stories is what has helped them garner a formidable reputation both in the UK and overseas.

The company produces a mix of indoor touring productions, educational projects and bespoke, site specific performance for touring, festivals, events and the commercial sector.