The border towns of Albury/Wodonga have produced more than just fruit flies – there’s a whole circus of them, and two have fallen in love! I got to chat with Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay about their show You & I
For Australians, the fruit fly is a pesky little banana-eating insect. It’s also an endearing term for one of our nation’s best-loved performing troops – The Flying Fruit Fly Circus.
Nestled in the border towns of Albury (NSW) and Wodonga (VIC), Australia’s only full-time circus school has been running for over forty years, and it’s where performers Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay met and fell in love.
Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay
Growing up as child acrobats, one could say they met on the flying trapeze – one of many skills that would eventually lead to forming their own company, Casus Creations. Having toured locally and internationally for fifteen years, they’ve now come back to where it all began. As part of the Borderville Circus Festival, Scott and McAulay have developed an artistic interpretation of their own story titled You & I.
“Jesse was a few years older than me when we met,” says McAulay.
“He was my student trainer and when I made it into the main Fruit Fly troop, we worked together for about a year. At that stage we weren’t out but very curious about each other! We caught each other’s eye, and it was pretty much love at first sight.”
“With the Fruit Flies, we never had to come out because we already had an acceptance for who we were.” – Jesse Scott
Known affectionately as the Fruities, the Flying Fruit Fly Circus is a national youth circus developed in 1979, the International Year of the Child. It’s located in the twin cities of Albury (NSW) and Wodonga (VIC) along the Murray River.
“With the Fruit Flies, we never had to come out because we already had such an acceptance for who we were,” says Scott.
“Circus is somewhere where the misfits and outcasts can go, and it’s a place where we always felt comfortable. We never had to look outside of the circus community into the queer community because we already had that acceptance. Locky and I toured the world with people who loved and cared for us. We had acceptance right from the get-go.”
Through Casus Creations, co-founded with performer Natano Fa’anana, Scott and McAulay have won awards, played festivals and toured globally with their expressive stories of human connection and cultural diversity.
“We’re not really shouters about our relationship or queerness,” says McAulay.
“We were the first same-sex couple to marry on the Sydney Opera House stage.” – Jesse Scott
“But we do weave it into our shows. Our physicality includes acrobatics, but we’ll hold hands for a little longer or keep a gaze for a lingering moment. It becomes a subtle undertone that people seem to appreciate. We became frustrated with the representation of gay relationships in the past. We found them to be too hard or harsh, and that era has changed a lot now, but we wanted to develop a show that at its core was a healthy, happy, relationship.”
The You & I performance is a combination of intricate choreography, momentum and stillness. There is strength, fragility and clever moves which all add to the atmosphere.
“It’s a show about our love and friendship,” says Scott.
“It’s trapezing, hula hoops, balancing on chairs and chucking each other around, but the true essence is the connection we have with each other and how trust is built. We felt there wasn’t a lot of stuff in the media regarding a relationship between two males that wasn’t full of trauma and heartache. I think that’s changed now, but we wanted to tell a story that was simply about two people in love, and it didn’t matter if it was two men. Our love, I would say is quite soft. The contemporary circus is a place without a script. We don’t speak but rather use our bodies to tell the story and we can’t be complex. There’s only so much the audience can grasp, so we don’t try to be over the top.”
“We became frustrated with the representation of gay relationships.” – Lachlan McAulay
Casus Creations is not all high-level acrobatics, although that is reason enough to watch these extremely athletic men. The unabashed tenderness within You & I also connects with the audience.
“We’ve had people say they are genuinely warmed and comforted by the show,” says McAulay.
“We’ve had young teens and parents say the happy relationship shown on stage is an eye-opener to them. We’ve also had older gentlemen thank us because they’re so happy we can tell a genuine story and tell it safely.”
“We recently visited Japan which had just gone through its marriage equality debate,” says Scott.
Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAulay
“It sadly didn’t get passed, but it felt important to tell our story. Our show’s always been about showing two people rather than gender.”
Together for fifteen years, Scott and McAulay, have now tied the knot themselves – twice, even getting into the record book.
“We had our first marriage in front of friends and family just before the law was passed,” says Scott.
“It was a huge celebration from dusk till dawn! The second time was on stage at the Sydney Opera House after one of our shows. We negotiated with the management and got our suits and a celebrant ready. We were the first same-sex couple to marry on the Opera House stage and the second overall couple in general!”
For Scott and McAulay, home is Uki in the Northern Rivers district of NSW. Over the last twelve years, Casus Creatives has toured twenty-seven countries, even performing in France during the COVID lockdown. One show included 217 Pacific Islander singers and dancers!
“We’ve just created a new show called Apricity,” says McAulay.
“It premiered in Melbourne and we’re touring it locally and internationally this year. We’re constantly touring, creating and keeping the company to medium size. We don’t want to become a major company because it could lose its heart!”
For more visit: casuscreations.com
Follow the boys on Instagram @casuscreations
