Break | Cecilia Martin & The Farm
Highlights were the directness and vulnerability with which the story was told, and the interweaving of acrobatic skills. We hear insights into the close relationship between skilled performers—including the sheer joy of ‘getting it right,’ as well as the pain and pressure of training, travel, and surgeries, and we see great use of the spinning plates, walking on broken china, incredible athleticism (and skipping), and quite amazing trapeze and aerial acrobatics.
Drenched | Caetlyn Watson
Brisbane was indeed privy to an extraordinary dance performance brought to the stage by a phenomenal dancer/choreographer/director. Such is the magic of performance art that it felt as if this particular choreographer had unwittingly reached inside each dancer, ripped out their ‘soul’, placed it on stage and said “I give you permission to bare yourself to the audience.’’
Again, You Have Trusted Me | Sarah Stafford
I think I’m a fan because Stafford can silence a room as easily as she can get one onside, and that’s a skill, an artist that makes work that’s rough and stabby and is Not For Everyone. It’s so refreshing actually. I actually can’t think of another work I’ve seen in ages that felt so sharp-edged, so fresh in style and tone as this strange dark tonic.
It's Only Life | The Head Bros
Speaking of those performers, Maddison Hutchins brought such joy and levity whenever she walked on stage; matched by her buoyant vocals. Whenever she was on stage, you couldn’t help but look at her as she was so animated.
Maze | The Naughty Corner Collective
The actors used neon tube lighting to move around the space, giving shape to the maze and blocking Wray’s path as he approached dead ends. This was a very effective use of the small stage. Further, it made the labyrinth feel alive, almost like a character itself, with the lighting being the blood pumping through the veins of the tunnels.