A Kirby wire is a
pendulum
A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...
-based flying system used by stage performers. The system was invented by George Kirby in 1898,
[''Academic Dictionary of Film, Television and Theatre'', pg. 177.] and utilizes a quick-release mechanism for safety. The Kirby family made other innovations in theatrical flight including the
somersault
A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...
wire and a system that allowed an actor to be flown to the stage above the audience.
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References
{{stagecraft-stub
Circus equipment
Special effects
Stagecraft