WOman | WOmen
Perhaps the most apt description I could give to the work is that it is theatre by way of riot grrrl - punchy, witty, and cruel, but with a true sense of camaraderie and sisterhood behind it.
“Post-genre means equity and inclusivity: every genre, every discipline, every community, has something valid to share.”
Looking at it this way, the most important aspects therefore weren’t just the pieces we programmed, or the particular genres involved, but how, and why, we do what we do. This realisation has given us so many more possibilities artistically, but also resulted in us curating using our values of social equity, non-hierarchical artistic collaboration, and celebrating community first.
"We were looking for ways and spaces where all our different musical pursuits could coexist and combine…" Connor D’Netto on NONSTOP
It’s easy for people to assume certain types of music to exist in a certain place, presented in a certain way, and maybe even listened to by certain people. That’s so limiting on every level. It limits the kind of art artists feel comfortable (or are even allowed) to create; it limits whether people feel comfortable in certain spaces and therefore whether they are able to experience different kinds of art; it limits how people are able to come together, connect and interact.
Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skin Deep Collective
It’s hard to believe that it took only ten days for ‘Tales from the Colony’ to be created and then performed on stage. For a work that was complexed, multifaceted and spoke on deep themes and issues, it was suspiring to hear how quick it took for it all to come together, but that’s also a testament to the rawness that was on full display. And when the ending came, the audience on their feet standing, clapping and cheering on in praise: the emotional toll on six incredible performers was evident, and with that the realisation of what we had experienced was more than a show, but a journey of exposing truths, finding identity and baring trauma.
Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
Apocalipstick used drag and gender-fuckery to engage the audience through laughter, the absurd, and the excess. There is nothing better to make someone think about serious issues than to make them laugh! Laughter sits with you in a light vein and it makes you come back to the funny sketch again and again looking for one more laugh. Drag invites laughter by highlighting the contradictions of gender through the excess: hoping for a fuck, office tape and markers become the perfect beauty tools for a face-lift and make-up, and thin-glass toxic masculinity is the weapon of the man looking for acceptance in the wolf pack.
Grand Slam & Seventh Birthday | Ruckus Slam
It was all the best trivia-night vibes, coupled with some kick-ass artists. No poetry clicking here. The poets were judged by audience members selected at random who got to don funny hats. The scoring system was in dinosaur puns. You can’t be simultaneously pretentious and score in dinosaur puns.
Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
Wow wow wow. I feel like my eardrums have just been given a delightful, melodic pounding. Songs My Aunties Taught Me is part opera, part beatboxing, part comedy, and one hundred percent remarkable. This first collaboration between songstress Heru Pinkasova and the beatboxing, drumming Dr Rhythm is a melodious fusion of two very different art forms, which tells the stories of influential women in Heru’s life; both her mother and aunties, and the great women of colour who sang before her.
Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
The interactions between Aunty Heru and Jonny Drama brings out a humorous side to the show and the chemistry between them is endearing as it feels like they have both known each other for a long time and that they have toured lengthy with this show despite it being their first. As talented as Heru is with her voice, Jonny’s beatboxing skills are similarly impressive.
Creepy Cabaret | EC Venue and Damien Cassidy
Creepy Cabaret is just that - a tale of fake blood, puppets and blow up dolls, and a homage to sex (or lack of) complete with a twist on risking the status quo. It’s a great show and producer Damien Cassidy has pulled together a diverse international stellar cast in the one room.
We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin
They’ve moved us into the round, which for the most part works, although pieces down the far end of the room require you to crane your head. They are using segues that don’t entirely make sense on the surface. Which is good. I get tired of having everything spelled out for me, and when something is ambiguous and creative and exploring edgy themes I want the opportunity to let my imagination run wild. I want to see if I can figure it out. It’s what make art fun and interesting.
We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin
As I was watching We the Aliens, I kept on think about who are the aliens and how do we relate to them. Etymologically, alien means foreign, strange. It is the ‘Other’ to which we cannot relate. And yet, we do have a relation with the alien, albeit in negative terms. The alien is that which we negate from ourselves, that we make foreign to us, and that we perceived as strange and threatening. The body of acrobats and contortionists is a good representation of this concept and also an entry point to reflect on it.
Snapshot | Polytoxic
Part installation, and part dramatic outdoor performance, Snapshot is most of an hour of lockdown reminiscing, dreaming, recovery, survival and bouncing back. Much of the projections were recorded when Polytoxic sent a call-out to artists to record a message and respond and tell us how they were doing.
One Bottle Later | The Good Room
Following Covid-safe distancing and hand-held signs directing us not to speak, we entered into a magical space. The room was beautifully lit by Jason Glenwright with waiters dancing around and making sure everyone was looked after. I felt like I was transported in time to a 1920’s nightclub. The attention to detail was delightful.
The Neighbourhood | La Boite & Multicultural Australia
Directed by La Boite’s Artistic Director Todd MacDonald, The Neighbourhood is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful forms of storytelling that I’ve witnessed both on and off the stage. Featuring seven storytellers (Amer Thabet, Naavi Karan, Matt Hsu, Aurora Liddle-Christie, Anisa Nandaula, Cieavash Arean, Nima Doostkhah), it is a devised work in which each actor shares their own stories, through music, dance, rap or song and by using the space and the set as their own creative playground.
Nonstop | Dots + Loops
Is music still music if one rejects a central tone or key? A melody or chorus? The usual instruments in their usual styles? Dots+Loops provides excellent answers to all these questions, bundled together into one odd, eclectic, at times mesmerising evening.
Daddy | Joel Bray
Joel is a master of charming and working a crowd, but we are never allowed to get comfortable in Daddy. Presented promenade style, Joel weaves and dances around and through us and speaks to us directly throughout … He invites us to get involved and it’s always clear that we can opt out, but this may not be the show for you if you prefer to enjoy live theatre separated from the performer in the comfort of your seat.
Invisible Things | Alex Mizzen
The show pulls out a lot of darkness, a lot of deep hidden internal thoughts, and I realise about a third of the way through that this is very real for Alex, she is not acting this experience, she is having it.
Notorious Strumpet & Dangerous Girl | Jess Love
The show has enough pithy statements and throwaway jokes that those who haven't experienced mind-numbing addiction will find it funny, moving, an education even, an insight. But for those of us who have been down that path, it is a bittersweet cloudy mirror.
The Inquisition of the Big Bad Wolf | Prying Eye
This is contemporary dance, but not as you know it. Interdisciplinary works are all the rage at the moment, and this talented company have nailed the brief, fusing dance, theatre and performance art into a great big hilarious wonderland.
Inertia | Vulcana Women's Circus
Inertia is a brave new work that features ten young women acrobats in a visceral exploration of modern society and our culture of constant online connection.