Harpies | Eli Free
A Study in Resistance, Mess and Joy.
Brisbane Spring weather is known for its storms and changeability and when I went to see Harpies on Thursday night, that evening’s outlook was no exception. The award for Most Dedicated to Performance under Pressure, (newly created by me) would definitely be won by the Harpies cast and crew. It poured the entire show, which was staged outside with no cover, except for over the crowd and sound desk.
Harpies is a physical theatre and dance production debuting as part of Backbone Festival, starring and created by performance artist Eli Free. It is a show about art as resistance, food as resistance and queerness as resistance, centred around three Harpy characters. Harpies are the bird woman archetype, often used as a misogynist trope about female bitterness, painting women as nags and ugly crones. This motif character was used throughout ancient and modern history in books, songs and film. The cast of Harpies were three multi-disciplinary performers in Eli Free, Indiah Morris and Humairaa Hosenally.
Images by Captured By Madi, including cover image.
Harpies was performed outside, due in part I’d assume, to the amount of mess that was staged as part of the show. A giant fruit banquet setting was used throughout their performance, and involved throwing, smashing and spitting in choreographed moments. This may not have been the most convenient staging area, with the elements to battle against, but the performers didn’t blink an eye, or flap a wing rather, as they continued to entrance and challenge a very enthusiastic audience with their storytelling.
The actors used exaggerated facial expressions, audience interactive sequences and an overall message of defiance to tell this narrative. At times graceful and at others deliberately repugnant, these actors gave their all for this show, creating a sense of community with each other and their audience as they progressed. They also involved other artistic elements including electric guitar, puppetry and roving, and it was clear that this is a multi talented, local cast. These elements fit together well and the performance was polished and added another brick into the lexicon of feminist, queer interpretation of an ancient archetype. Sometimes I felt the specific story narrative was difficult to follow, with physical theatre being one of the more challenging art form to present a narrative line within.
A highlight for me was an audience interaction sequence where people were invited to hand feed the harpy characters, with some interesting and challenging results- the cast didn’t make it easy for them and multiple attempts had to be made. The symbolism of bird parents carefully feeding their chicks wasn’t lost. For me it once again brought up the importance of community and embracing the uncertainty that comes with these moments of giving and receiving. I loved that audience members were also instructed they could eat the food positioned on stage in special fruit bowls as well. We all loved that.
Harpies definitely wasn’t what I expected when I walked into the show, but at a time where resistance is being stamped out far more than in recent memory, it was an important show, from creative minds. At the very end, post bows, a joyful dance party broke out in the rain, with cast and audience joining together to the final song. In the end, maybe the rain made the experience exactly what it was meant to be.
