Sort by closest to today?
I would make two view lists, one to show forthcoming performances and one to show past performances.

This way you can title each list so it's clear to users which is which. It would be feasible through careful CSS to make it look like they are one list. And each list will only show as required.

Filter on the date, either '>= now' or '&lt;= now', to make each list work as you wish.