Circa's acrobatic circus at the Grand Palais

With To See the Stars Again, the Grand Palais opens its 2026 Summer season with a performance that uses the main nave as a scenographic device. The work is presented across four performances: Friday and Saturday at 9 pm, and Sunday at 11 am and 7 pm. Created by the Australian company Circa, it is conceived for a monumental space rather than a conventional theatre. The structure is direct: twelve acrobats and four musicians share the stage, with no separation between movement and sound. The visual environment is defined by a field of lights that transforms the space into a shifting surface. Bodies move through balance, fall and suspension in a continuous sequence. The title draws from the final line of Dante’s Inferno, “and we emerged to see the stars again.” The reference is not developed as narrative, but as a condition: passing through darkness and re-emerging. The dramaturgy remains implicit, shaped by the relationship between performers and space. Founded in Brisbane in 2004, Circa is a company that has contributed to redefining contemporary circus. Its work combines acrobatics, dance and physical theatre, avoiding the traditional structure of separate acts. Movement is continuous, risk is part of the language, and the group functions as a unit. To See the Stars Again follows this approach. It does not present a sequence of acts, but a single composition in which the collective dimension prevails over the individual. The group becomes structure, support and constraint. Opening the season with this project signals a clear direction: to use the Grand Palais not as a container, but as an active element. The performance is defined through the interaction between architecture, light and body.