CIRCUS QUIRKS Ever dream of running away with the circus? Aurélia Thierrée didn’t have to: She grew up touring with her talented parents, the founders of Le Cirque Imaginaire. The acrobatic actress, illusionist and dancer (pictured) stars at the Hop this week in Aurelia’s Oratorio, a vaudeville-inspired phantasmagoria wherein a stage curtain can become a palace, a ship’s sail, or a portal to fairyland. “Bread and circuses” may be the stock phrase, but beer and circuses work, too. Spectators can sample both at a traveling show brainstormed by Magic Hat Brewery and the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. From New York City, Bindlestiff twists traditional carnie fare into camp, specializing in sideshow savvy and bubbly burlesque. Wednesday’s spectacles include sword swallowing, aerial tricks and — ahem — precision bullwhipping. Step right up!
‘Aurelia’s Oratorio’, Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, Moore Theater, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., see calendar for times. $28. Info, 603-646-2422. www.hop.dartmouth.edu
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus,Wednesday, June 27, Higher Ground, South Burlington, 9 p.m. $10-15. Info, 652-0777. www.bindlestiff.org
