Scotch and Soda, from Australian circus act Company 2, is the feature act at this year's Tiger Dublin Fringe.
To find out more about Company 2, and what can be expected from Scotch and Soda, we had a chat with two of their top acrobats, Skip Walker-Milne and Kate Muntz.

For an Irish audience who may not have heard of Company 2, tell us a little bit about the company and how it differs to a traditional circus?
Kate: Company 2 is contemporary performing arts company based in Brisbane, Australia. The Company differs from a very traditional circus not because they are strictly contemporary based but because we draw from many styles of many art forms, which also includes traditional circus.
Skip: The way our company differs from that of a traditional circus is that we put a fair amount of emphasis on what we all bring to the work individually as well as what we all contribute as a group. That might mean particular skills and acrobatic disciplines or even uniqueness of personality and interests. So instead of having some dry solo acts that are disconnected from what the show might be as a whole, we revel in what we can build together and how our varied abilities and personality traits reflect our group. With all of our combined interests in the different aspects of theatrics and circus the result is often very striking and uniquely us. That for me is what makes it special.

What can an audience expect from Scotch and Soda, your show at this year's Tiger Dublin Fringe?
Skip: It is a very fun show! I think audiences can expect to have a laugh, and feel quite up close to what’s happening on stage in the Spiegeltent. It can definitely be a very thrilling experience to be in such close quarters with some of the acrobatics and antics.
Kate: Scotch & Soda is an upbeat mixture of live music and up close circus, Audiences can expect leaving the Spiegeltent feeling like they have been involved in a wild bush party.

Being part of a circus is a pretty unusual career; how did you get into acrobatics and circus skills, how did you end up with Company 2?
Skip: I first started training circus at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne Australia, where I had been encouraged to do a come and try class from a friend who trained there. I immediately developed a taste for it despite not being entirely physically prepared. A year and a half later I enrolled for the full time bachelor course in circus arts offered at the same institution and it sort of just rolled on from there. 3 years later I started touring abroad with another small company and ended up finding my way to the lovely folks at Company 2 who accepted me into their group. My friends and family have always been very supportive of it.
Kate: I started circus at the age of 8 when I joined the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. A youth Circus based in Albury/Wodonga, Australia. I met David and Chelsea the directors of Company 2 while working on another project in 2014 and then later joined Company 2 in 2015. I grew up in a circus so most of my friends are also circus performers. My older sister is also an acrobat, so my family are now very used to having two circus performers in the family.

When you're not performing, how much training and rehearsing do you?
Skip: It can vary a little - when we are having a holiday then the amount of training we do tends to drop significantly, but when we are in the rehearsal space leading up to a show, we can spend 8 hours a day training skills and rehearsing scenes and different pieces of acrobatics.
Kate: It depends on what project is next… If I am back home for a while then I try and train every day for at least a couple of hours, or a couple of times a week. But when you’re on the road travelling, it can be hard to find time and space to train and keep fit.

Will you get an opportunity to explore Dublin while you’re here, what are you hoping to see/do?
Skip: We will have a full day to go exploring while we are here, and I would really love to see some of the dramatic coastline that I have heard so much about, and to find a good view of Ireland in all its glory.
Kate: I am hoping to see some other shows that are running at Tiger Dublin Fringe

Scotch and Soda runs in the Spiegeltent, WolfeTone Square until September 20th.