Come Alive - a circus spectacular in the round
The whole-group package - scenery, drapes, automation, 7-axis performer flying and rigging - engineered and supplied by TSA as a single show, and kept show-ready on tour, with three custom mechanisms at its heart.
Come Alive plays in the round, with performer flying, custom show mechanisms, chain hoists and a full scenic build all moving together, to a cue, every performance. Select a point to see the system TSA engineered and supplied.
Come Alive - a circus spectacular in the round
An in-the-round circus arena show where the scenery, drapes, automation, performer flying and rigging all have to work as one, with three custom mechanisms carrying performers over a round stage - and pack down to tour.
Engineered, supplied and maintained the whole-group package on tour - hippodrome scenery and a scenic midway, drapes, 7-axis Hercules and RAYNOK performer flying, EXE-Rise chain hoists, plus a self-climbing balloon platform, a rotating Zoetrope and a 15 kN arena rig - with a TSA transfer team on every city move.
One team across every discipline, packed down and re-rigged city to city, and handed over show-ready for each new season.
An in-the-round circus spectacular is one of the hardest briefs in live performance. There is no back wall to hide the rig, no wings to mask a scene change, and an audience on every side. The scenery, drapes, automation, performer flying and rigging all have to read as one continuous world, while every load-bearing move happens over the heads of the crowd.
Come Alive raised the bar again with three custom mechanisms at its heart: a self-climbing balloon band platform, a rotating Zoetrope, and a 15 kN circus arena rig. Each was designed to carry performers or musicians, operate on cue, and tour from venue to venue.
TSA was engaged to deliver a broad package of works across the production, including scenic engineering, drapery systems, automation, performer flying and rigging. The challenge was not the individual systems, but helping ensure they worked together as a cohesive touring solution that could be packed, transported and reassembled season after season.
The success of an in-the-round spectacular relies on multiple technical disciplines working together. TSA contributed across scenic engineering, drapery systems, automation, performer flying and rigging, helping transform complex creative concepts into practical touring infrastructure.
Among the key project elements were three custom-fabricated mechanisms: a self-climbing balloon band platform, a rotating Zoetrope, and a 15 kN circus arena rig. Designed for both performance and touring, each system was developed to operate reliably within the broader production environment.
At the heart of Come Alive is a full circus arena rig suspended above a stage surrounded by audience on every side. The system supports aerial performance, performer flying and custom scenic elements, all controlled through an integrated automation platform that delivers precise, repeatable movement on cue.
Every lifting point, movement path and load-bearing element was engineered for safety, reliability and consistent performance throughout the tour.
The whole package was engineered to pack down and travel. TSA supplies a dedicated transfer team - two automation riggers/technicians and a Performer Flying Director - who work each city move alongside the production's own riggers and crew, and service every TSA system so it arrives show-ready for the next season. When the whole stack is ours, one team stays accountable for the whole package, city to city.
Come Alive runs as one show because it was engineered as one. The scenery is TSA's. The drapes are TSA's. The automation, the performer flying and the rigging are TSA's, and a TSA transfer team - two automation riggers/technicians and a Performer Flying Director - works every city move alongside the production's own crew. Nothing was stitched together from separate suppliers - one team drew it, built it, flew it and keeps every system show-ready, season after season.
That is what whole-group delivery buys a production: a single team accountable for every discipline, from the hippodrome scenery to the aerialist in the roof of the tent. It is the clearest proof we have that TSA can deliver every stage discipline as one package, not a single system.
Circus and arena, touring productions, theatres, themed entertainment. When the scenery, drapes, automation, flying and rigging all have to work as one show and travel, one accountable team makes the difference. Talk to us.