We The Aliens | Ela Bartilomo and Cecilia Martin
Using strong limbs and stretched muscle, a group of acrobats explore the weirder aspects of the human condition in We The Aliens. It’s a collection of vignettes that prod at the relationship between humans and Earth, and asks what is innate and what is truly strange indeed.
My favourite part, well I have a few really, but one is to muck with form, to try stuff that isn’t just performative tricks for the cheap seats, but to pull at strings just to see what unravels. To try strange interludes, to really experiment, to test an idea out in front of people and see if they get it. This work was still quite chaotic, as is expected with a new crew doing their first exploration back into performance after lockdown. There’s a fab lipsync with a juicy finish, that had me itching to rub my head and pat my belly. There’s a high energy skipping routine which always makes me happy – skipping is just infectious.
Image + cover image: Billie Wilson-Coffey
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.
Like the nature of Mayu Muto’s relationship to her child of braided hair, which was tender and full of affection and instantly recognisable as maternal, and yet at the same time came from an uncomfortable and unfamiliar place. The tropes of motherhood are common and many, and sing to us in a universal manner, even when placed into the bizarre.
We the Aliens is weird and sexy and sometimes stupid, and also pretty, and ominous, and it’s nice to run the gamut of emotion. It’s not too hardcore – it doesn’t punch you with the heavy themes, and honestly no one needs that right now. I like that several of the pieces don’t have a clearly delineated ending point. I like when an audience doesn’t know when to clap – although this can probably be more deliberate on the part of the performers.
There was a ferocious straps performance by Elise Jaworowski that was an intoxicating highlight of the show, with a superb routine that amplified the heavy beats and lyrics of whatever that sick track was.
Image: Billie Wilson-Coffey
And I enjoyed seeing another riff on a work-in-development by Ela Bartilomo that makes me happy by poking fun at herself and using a silly sideshow trick just cause. I love sideshow and I love when it is inserted into a piece, not just done for the claps.
Jarod Tackle created a sci-fi-esque hand balancing act that conjured visions of apocalyptic futures a-la Tank Girl, with a mask that pulled wisps of oxygen from a tiny greenhouse. It was a suitably poignant finish to the gallery of performances.
The show needs a whole season to test its legs, and probably someone prodding them to really push these pieces into the surreal and macabre, but it’s a damn good start. And it was great to see it in a dark circus venue, cause the venue can really amplify strange works like this. From where I sat I could see a range of emotional expression cross the faces across the circle, and can without a doubt confirm that everyone left the room thoroughly entertained.
