Damien Droin, founder of French contemporary circus company Hors Surface, is coming to WOMADelaide with his innovative shows HOME and Le poids des nuages (The Weight of Clouds) for their Australian debut. In this interview, he reveals how his childhood passion, inherited from his circus Dad, turned into an audacious career mixing extreme acrobatics, the invention of structures like the Acronet, the poetic inspirations of Rimbaud and Icarus, and a vision of circus as a universal language of liberty and reinvention that promises to enchant Australian audiences.
Damien, with your circus company Hors Surface, you are coming to WOMADelaide to present two shows: HOME and Le poids des nuages. Have you presented your shows in Australia before?
No, this is my first time in this part of the world. Until now, I have been able to carry out international projects, notably in Brazil, Korea, and Guinea. I started by presenting my creations there, and then continued by working with local artists to pass on my knowledge. So today, I’m very happy to be forging these new ties with Australia, because one of the things I love most about this profession is being able to share my passion for contemporary circus with people from different backgrounds.
You discovered the circus at a very young age, when you were 5, and your father dedicated himself to it full time. When did you know that you too wanted to dedicate yourself to it full time?
I did indeed get my start in the circus when I was little, but this world gradually took up more and more space in my life. After starting my first solo creation, I discovered how enriching it could be to be both on stage and in charge of the artistic direction of a company. In fact, after that, I was able to meet a multitude of artists who contributed enormously to the development of my artistic language.
You studied several disciplines: teeterboard, Russian swing, flying trapeze, and juggling before specialising in tightrope walking and high wire walking. But that’s not all! You also trained in classical and contemporary dance. How do all of these disciplines help you in your show creations today?
For me, multidisciplinarity in performance is essential to avoid monotony. It is also a great asset for artistic creation because the body in my creations conveys more than just performance.
Why did you decide to create your own circus company? What was your vision for the type of circus you wanted to create? And what do you look for in the people who are part of your shows?
I began creating and developing my own artistic universe while studying at the CNAC (National Centre for Circus Arts). I was fortunate to be able to work as a performer in theatre, contemporary dance, and opera in several European countries. And the need to create my own company quickly became apparent. That’s when Hors Surface was born, when I was 23. I seek to create a multifaceted circus, focusing my attention on high-level acrobatics as well as dramaturgy. I quickly became passionate about scenography and the construction of unusual apparatus, which quickly became my trademark.
Your work is often described as a mix of physical theatre, acrobatics, and poetic imagery. How would you describe your unique approach to circus?
In the early stages of creation, once my subject is clear, I like to think of my scenes like a painter. I write visually powerful tableaux and then work on the body in resonance with the space.
Where does your desire to innovate come from?
Good question… I’ve always loved inventing! Looking for new ways of doing things, new paths to explore. My parents always encouraged me to question my surroundings, to never take things for granted. This gave me the strength to overcome my fear of the unknown and find the freedom to create!
The show HOME is performed on a structure consisting of a wire stretched over an acronet. It is your own creation. Tell us about the creative process for this structure.
I created this structure during my training at the CNAC. It all started with a back injury, which forced me to put the trampoline aside. That’s when I discovered tightrope walking… Symbolically, balancing on the tightrope of life really spoke to me, and I returned to the trampoline with a new vision. The combination of acrobatics and balance was obvious. But the trampoline was too small, too terrestrial, too gymnastic. I quickly needed to ‘break the mould’ of my practice to invent my own space. I spent several months in the workshops designing this large canvas, which I then called Acronet.
Tell us about the show HOME, which is a story about the opposites that make us who we are.
It all started with a poem: Le Bateau Ivre by Arthur Rimbaud.
This poem immediately resonated with the maritime world of my structure, and the powerful images in the text immediately made me want to dive into the physical writing of this show. We see a being who observes the world from his thread and decides to lose himself in the poem of the sea, from which he will emerge irrevocably changed.
HOME is described as a journey on the theme of belonging and connection. What stories or emotions does this show explore?
In it, I explore my ghosts in particular. My visions are almost hallucinatory in this unstable world. Acrobatics then appears as an act of freedom. Freedom for which one must fight, offering one’s whole body to weightlessness…
The other show you will be presenting at WOMADelaide is Le poids des nuages (The Weight of Clouds). Tell us a little about that one.
This piece features two slightly absurd characters faced with an even more absurd situation. A large ladder pointing towards the sky. It leads nowhere.
For me, it’s an allegory of humanity’s quest for more. Higher, faster, more intense. But why? The important thing here is the encounter between these two beings, who, through their quest for the absolute, will discover trust and friendship.
What inspired Le poids des Nuages, and how does this show reflect your company’s style and themes?
The need to gain height often recurs in my creations, but I would say that it is above all a certain interpretation of the myth of Icarus that inspires me the most: the dream of flying, man’s ability to persevere, to transcend himself and to reinvent himself.
Which artists, movements or life experiences have most influenced your work and the direction of the Hors Surface company?
I learned a lot from the author and director Fabrice Melquiot, with whom I have collaborated extensively. I have also had the opportunity to participate in many movements such as street arts, contemporary dance, theatre and opera. I have drawn on all these practices to build my artistic universe.
How do you collaborate with artists and performers when creating a new show?
I work closely with the artists on stage, because for most of my creations, the writing is done during residencies, and I work a lot on instinct. I like being able to improvise directly with the performers.
What do you want the audience to feel or remember when they attend one of your shows?
I try to make the audience experience an inner journey through the show. I want the emotion evoked by the acrobatics and suspension to serve as a foundation for the poetry, images and writing.
How do you use circus techniques to tell stories and evoke emotions?
As I said earlier, acrobatics says a lot about man’s ability to push himself and reinvent himself. I see acrobatics as an act of freedom. I try to make sure that every movement has meaning and that nothing is gratuitous.
What message or themes do you particularly want to convey through your shows?
What I really like is that we get the feeling that nothing is impossible with audacity and hard work. The sky is the only limit.
How do you see circus as a tool for connecting people and exploring social themes?
The circus is like micro-politics, like micro-geography, it’s like a medium for movement, for transcendence, a trigger for experiences. Today, I’m continuing my journey through forms and stages, continuing to hybridise movements, to move the venues where the show is performed, to find new perspectives.
How do you adapt your shows for different audiences, particularly at international festivals such as WOMADelaide?
My shows never adapt. They are known for having several levels of interpretation and, as there is no text, it is the body that speaks! A universal language, without borders.
Why should Australian audiences come and see Cie Hors Surface at WOMADelaide?
To discover our circus! Poetic and visual. Willingly hallucinating.
—
We thank Damien Droin from Cie Hors Surface for this interview
KEY INFO FOR CIE HORS SURFACE AT WOMADelaide
WHAT: Cie Hors Surface will present two shows at WOMADelaide 2026: HOME and Le Poids des nuages
WHEN: WOMADelaide runs from Friday 6 to Monday 9 March.
Le Poids des Nuages
Friday 6 March: 6pm and 10pm
Saturday 7 March: 7pm and 10pm
Sunday 8 March: 7pm and 10pm
Monday 9 March: 7pm and 10pm
HOME
Friday 6 March: 8pm
Saturday 7 March: 5:30pm and 8pm
Sunday 8 March: 5:30pm and 8pm
Monday 9 March: 5:30pm and 8pm
HOW: Buy your tickets on the WOMADelaide website
HOW MUCH: There are several ticket options available, ranging from single-day tickets to 3- or 4-day passes, starting at $240 for a single-day ticket, or $475 for the entire duration of WOMADelaide. Admission is free for children under 12, and discounts are available for Youth (aged 13–17) and concession holders.
Read our other WOMADelaide 2026 content:
Asmâa Hamzaoui, the first female Gnawa master, will perform at WOMADelaide this March
Yuka Okazaki will bring her inner landscapes to life at WOMADelaide
