Cirque Alfonse’s TIMBER! (Zürich)

When it comes to TIMBER! by Cirque Alfonse, expect the unexpected!

It’s not that jugglers are completely absent from this circus, but they might juggle with axes! This is because the show was inspired by the lumberjack culture of Quebec, Canada. In fact, the idea for TIMBER! originated on a farm in remote Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez in 2010.

For their father’s birthday, Antoine and his sister Julie came up with a circus spectacle inspired by the tools and forestry resources they had available. Thanks to the community which loved the show so much, all of us now get to watch TIMBER!

When lumberjacks try circus you get TIMBER!

There is a cool Newly Swissed connection, too! The father, Alain Carabinier, originally grew up in Geneva. An adventurer at heart, he toured the world by bus, horse, and sailboat before he finally settled in Canada.

You can still feel that adventurous spirit in his offsprings’ show that is TIMBER! It is a spectacle where traditional folk music, risky aerial acrobatics, and daredevil tricks (some involving saws!) are combined in an authentic, backcountry way. And if you find time to breathe, you might even smell the fresh-cut pine logs and the sweat of lumberjacks!

TIMBER! is a fast, unconventional and thus unforgettable show which Zürich has never seen before!