Saskia Sassen 10/9/21 Saskia Sassen 10/9/21

Demolition | Polytoxic

When arriving at my seat a wave of proud brown girl joy makes its way through my spirit as the demolition work site sets the scene for what is going to be one of the most memorable shows that I've witnessed. I was about to undergo a unravelling of identity and I was more than ready!

Katie Rasch 9/9/21 Katie Rasch 9/9/21

Demolition | Polytoxic

The importance of solidarity really stuck with me and I felt like I was being shown an inclusive version of sisterhood that I could really relate to. This was no highly sanitised mainstream girlboss sisterhood, but the kind of solidarity that can be difficult and gritty and requires you to show up for other people and do the work.

Virag Dombay 9/9/21 Virag Dombay 9/9/21

Dirty Laundry | Briefs Factory

Briefs Factory’s Dirty Laundry is sexy but it also has a lot of heart and soul. It’s a show that not only dazzles but is also about connection and finding joy and pleasure in moments of uncertainty. It’s a show that will make you wolf-whistle, stomp your feet and leave you thirsty for more.

Ofa Fanaika 9/9/21 Ofa Fanaika 9/9/21

Demolition | Polytoxic

Polytoxic’s show Demolition is not only a staggering showcasing of Circus and Theatre, it is a moving and uplifting Call-To-Arms. The effortless shift of scenes drew my senses in and catapulted me from issue to issue that many women in this world face on a daily basis.

Hope One 9/9/21 Hope One 9/9/21

Demolition | Polytoxic

This work left me feeling seen on so many levels - as a Queer non-binary person struggling to fit the status quo, as a Maori woman who wasn’t raised on her Marae or Ancestral lands, as a Mother realising the importance of embracing culture for your children’s future, as a woman being surrounded by the constant pressures of living up to the patriarchal structure and never feeling good enough. I felt uplifted, hopeful, powerful and full of rage.

Jaydem Martin 8/9/21 Jaydem Martin 8/9/21

First Nations Fashion: Walking in Two Worlds | Grace Lillian Lee

Ultimately, First Nations Fashion: Walking in Two Worlds succeeds in creating something that stirs emotions, restores power, speaks truth, celebrates culture while displaying First Nations fashion labels. It decolonises an industry that is ripe with racism, classism, and sexism, and replaces it with a sense of hope and harmony.

Dr Fed 7/9/21 Dr Fed 7/9/21

Weredingo | Karul Projects

“Are you coming as a human or as an animal tonight?” a well-dressed guy asked us as we descended into New Benner Theatre at Metro Arts on Saturday night. “Animal!” I said without giving myself the time to process the question.

Georgia McKenzie 1/9/21 Georgia McKenzie 1/9/21

The Freshblood Festival 2021 | Vena Cava Productions

The Freshblood Festival allows a platform for emerging artists to showcase and workshop their work in a professional capacity. Each performance I viewed was written by current QUT students and alumni. I must admit that I was blown away by the level of professionalism that was showcased in this festival, and I hope that I will be able to get to the festival again next year.

Sylvia Speakeasy 29/8/21 Sylvia Speakeasy 29/8/21

Theatresports Grand Championships | ImproMafia

I counted fourteen different scenes across the show, which I thought was an impressive number for an hour-long show, and served as a tantalising sampler of the wide, wild world of impro possibilities. Over those scenes, the performers each showcased their strong individual talents for improvisation, imagination, and characterisation – and their sheer joy at being on stage was palpable. There was a great sense of chemistry between all of the performers, which allowed them to skillfully, smoothly riff off each other through even the most surprising changes in a scene.

Zac Burns 29/8/21 Zac Burns 29/8/21

Echo | ADC

I found myself appreciating the way each [video] used the editing process to produce new kinds of performances not otherwise possible. I was taken to beaches and country sides, highways and bushland; with each passing car a single dancer became three, and elegant hands multiplied upon themselves becoming ghostly worm-like entanglements. One dancer could pause at the end of a sequence only to be replaced by the next in the same position, continuing the next phrase like an Olympic relay of choreography and movement.

Catherine Lawrence 28/8/21 Catherine Lawrence 28/8/21

Romeo & Juliet | Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble

If you haven’t seen ‘a Shakespeare,’ then the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble’s (QSE) Romeo & Juliet is a highly-accessible doorway into the Bard’s work. Love at first sight ends badly for the star-crossed lovers, but results in the end of a long-standing feud between their waring families. Go along to experience the anguish of love and loss, with great fight scenes, tender romantic moments, youthful rebellion, live original music, and memorable comic interludes.

Nadia Jade 24/8/21 Nadia Jade 24/8/21

Titanic: The Movie, The Play | Act/React

A light-hearted riff on a pop-culture film particularly beloved by GenXers, this is a tonic for the tumultuous times we live in. In a time of near endless impositions and challenges to our mental health, it was just So Nice to watch something silly and welcoming and cheerful and performed with joy and gusto.

Georgia McKenzie 19/8/21 Georgia McKenzie 19/8/21

A Midnight Visit | Broad Encounters

What the creative team of A Midnight Visit have created is truly something wonderful that transported me into a world where my imagination could run wild. I felt childlike exploring the rooms and listening to the characters, as though I was romping around an exciting large playground for the first time.

Lauren Hale 15/8/21 Lauren Hale 15/8/21

Lucy & Me | Nicolas Angelosanto

Lucy & Me charmed me with the tale of man, Sphenn, and his bike, Lucy, trying to get home to Germany. We followed the two on wacky adventures as they tried to make money for a plane ticket. Sphenn was part trickster and part fool, an effeminate, romantic, simple-minded, European caricature. Nicolas brought enthusiasm, extremity and maintained his character well. I enjoyed his commitment to silliness, wiggling his whole body or licking the corners of a stamp feverishly until he got a laugh.

Virag Dombay 5/8/21 Virag Dombay 5/8/21

Caesar | La Boite

Caesar isn’t really an adaptation of Julius Caesar, it’s a show about actors putting on a play. In fact, it wasn’t really about putting on a play, but more so about the disputes and individual philosophies between the actors. It’s all very meta.

Kati Murphy 3/8/21 Kati Murphy 3/8/21

Seen But Not Her | Vulcana Circus

I felt like I was watching the inner workings of a glorious music box. The cogs in this microcosm represented by the musicians and their instruments, and the mathematics intrinsic to music generally, and more specifically in the complexity of a piano trio such as this. Also trapped in the music box, layered over these inner workings were the physical performers, who for me were like spirits or muses who represented the imperfect nature of creativity.

Ads J 30/7/21 Ads J 30/7/21

Chocolate Boxx Vs Charlie Love | Rumble

Haven’t heard of Rumble? Where have you been? This is the little game show that could. A night of performance shaken and stirred in all the best ways that’s been running monthly for three and a half years and counting, which just gets better with age having recently picked up best regular event at this year’s Queens Ball. Punters keep coming back month after month for the shenanigans and it always sells out. And nestled in The Outpost Bar, one of the Valley’s hidden gems, makes it all very Kit Kat Klub in all the right ways.

Kristy Stanfield 26/7/21 Kristy Stanfield 26/7/21

Lesbian Love Stories | The Local Lesbians

There really aren’t that many live shows around made by lesbians about lesbians for lesbians. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to make sense of your own story through hearing those of others, and to realise the commonalities of lesbian experiences in confrontation with homophobia, compulsory heterosexuality, the many layers of denial and the internal struggle between passion and fear. I was really impressed with the range of topics the 60 minute show managed to cover. It was well planned and well-written, unfolding in an entertaining and engaging way.

Ads J 22/7/21 Ads J 22/7/21

In the Arms of Morpheus | Robbie Curtis & ARC Circus

With In the Arms of Morpheus, Robbie Curtis not only solidifies himself as a performer to watch, he pushes the boundaries of storytelling in contemporary circus. Through outstanding skills and impressive staging, he showcases how well circus can tell moving and immersive narratives.

Dr Fed 19/7/21 Dr Fed 19/7/21

Collision | Casus Circus & Mad Dance House

I am an enthusiast of circus acrobatics and hip hop dance, but admittedly I never thought of these two next to one another. Both these physical practices involve impressive feats, but they engage bodies very differently. Bodies in circus acrobatics move vertically, and “slow” is the magic word. Hip hop relies on quick feet, isolations, and power moves. And while circus acrobatics and hip hop dance are so different, I was pleased to see how they were harmonised in Collision.