A night of gorgeous song by candlelight that pays respect to Irish songwriters old and new
Fly Little Sparrow presents, by candlelight in the cosy Farrier Bar, songs inspired by contemporary Irish singer-songwriters such as The Cranberries, Glenn Hansard, U2, Sinead O'Connor, Luka Bloom, Foy Vance, Mic Christopher and Damien Rice. The evening starts with traditional Irish tunes at the bar. Lisa Brennan and Lizzie Flynn come together as Fly Little Sparrow to sing harmonies that emulate riding on the wings of a strong-willed bird. Heading on a flight path of beautiful harmonic arrangements, their eclectic repertoire and commentary will take you on a journey from fragility to hope.
Let the Red Lady take you on a journey through relatable, darkly comic and stylised stories about human survival through the eyes of a Bouffon clown
Get Her Outta Here is a look at today’s society through the eyes of a Bouffon clown; Red Lady. It is a show made up of relatable, darkly comic and stylised stories about human survival. My Red Lady makes an unflinching, and richly poetic stand against being objectified and owned by the male gaze.
Interrogating control, grief and family, SHELTER will draw you in with its secrets, make you laugh with its warmth and break your heart with the truth.
Is there anything else we simply MUST know about the show?
“ART! ART! ART! Visual art is a big part of the world of SHELTER, for our characters and for the space. Part of the SHELTER experience is your ability to contribute to the art in the space. Want to leave your mark? Come along to the show.”
What happens to an already-fractured family when the patriarch dies suddenly at the Dawn Service?
‘Pieces of Tin’ explores what happens to an Australian family when the patriarch dies suddenly at the Dawn Service, Anzac Day. Matriarch Bea is devastated as are her four children and grandson. Unfortunately, the family has been fractured for some years, rarely seeing each other.
Get ready for 'Bard in the Yard', a down to earth experience that anyone can enjoy and immerse themselves in
This show has a strong and predominantly female cast, though all the actors possesses a high calibre of unique performance skills that have added new elements to this popular play. In particular, our male love-interest, Orlando will be played by a female against a female Rosalind to bend the traditional casting of the play while retaining the gender dynamic of the two main characters.
Five shows in places you’d never expect
One of the beauties of the Anywhere Theatre Festival is catching performances in the most weird and wonderful places of our town. Here are five of the most unusual and enticing spots to catch some art in this May.
Five shows for ethereal beings who love magic!
I am actually a giddy kid with magic tricks. Ever since I was a little kid, right to my very adult self, a good magic trick gets me all excited! Here’s some Anywhere Festival shows with real magic, really actually real magic, and mysterious magickal themes for all those lovers of otherworldly impossibilities.
Audiences will experience the camaraderie of sharing in stories and music around the campfire
When I was growing up in South Africa, it was second nature for musical instruments to come out around the campfire late at night. Everyone would sit around the fire and play and sing together. With this show, I really wanted to recreate this campfire atmosphere. These are some of my fondest memories growing up and I firmly believe that this is storytelling, theatre in its original form; just friends sharing tales around the fire.
Sex, Lies & Betrayal - It’s gonna make you blush!
A famous movie star is writing a tell-all book about her life in Hollywood and what goes on behind the scenes. Through story and song, Sex, Lies & Betrayal is a captivating tale of lies, betrayal and one woman’s sexual awakening.
Over The Back Fence | Vulcana Circus
Boasting more than 10 different acts across four venues, this was an immersive, engaging, and exciting journey, part way between a mystery tour and the best school excursion you’ve ever been on (only with no teachers and more beer).
Imagine being treated and viewed as a burden on the medical system. It's time to widen our perception of disability.
Necklace is an intimate, autobiographical and participatory performance exploring the experience of being treated and viewed as a burden on the medical system whilst bringing to light the joys, struggles and triumphs from diagnosis to acceptance. At turns funny and gutting, this story reminds us to be adventurers, always searching for the treasure within ourselves and others. The work in progress showing will surprise and delight you and widen critical conversations about our perceptions of disability.
"The show is made up of true stories and experiences of young people in share-houses during Covid-19, from all over the world."
Welcome to Rose Street, a share-house filled with passive aggressive post it notes, scattered Uber Eats bags, deep love and even deeper frustration. The best party of the year is being planned… that is, until lockdown is announced.
In Ireland and Scotland the Wake for someone who has passed is more often than not held at a pub.
‘The Wake’ is an improvised musical show centred around a Wake for one of the cast. The audience chooses which cast member is going to be the deceased on the night and the show unfolds about their life. A delightful mix of stories, songs and scenes inspired by the audience – with laughs aplenty!
"I went searching for snippets of inspiration in old articles on the terrors of youth" - Iley Jones on creating 'Good Talk'
Good Talk is a 40 minute two-hander revolving around high school sweethearts Jiā lǐ and Erin. While avoiding the realities of their deteriorating relationship they return to their hometown for their high school reunion. Upon arrival they find themselves alone with their thoughts and feelings, listening to each other and finding the cracks in their 10-year relationship. What was thought to be safely secured and locked in, is now exposed and left raw.
"What’s most important is finding performers who want to showcase their talent through new or existing material, and be a part of an event that lifts each other up."
Brisbaret is for people that want to discover the incredible performers around their own city who they might not see otherwise. If you enjoy laughing at the state of the world and experiencing a vast array of live performances, but perhaps don’t have the longest attention span and want to do something fun on a weeknight that you can still get to bed before 11, Brisbaret is for you!
Ingress | Bridie Hooper
The show was richly layered with all manner of symbolism, and heavily dosed with extremely high-level acrobatics. And of course, youthful vigour is itself a kind of immortality, for who can imagine being weak when one is full of strength? In the summer of life one cannot conceive of the winter of the body. But being young is not an immunity from self reflection, self doubt, self loathing, and self flagellation.
A citizen science group that attempts to contact alien life through the internet
“An artistic mentor of mine used to say ‘confront the materials’. I think this idea holds true with technology as well. You have to confront what the material of your show is, even if it is virtual. I am filled with a kind of dread about the power that is concentrating in the companies that connect us. Over recent years a hugely powerful force has been unleashed through social media, one that possesses us in strange ways and uses us for its own ends. It reminded me of movies like The Thing, it was like a monster has emerged in our world. So I took that genre and decided a shlock horror story would be a fun way to explore our feelings around surveillance capitalism, privacy and the power of big data and artificial intelligence.”
A solo performance-art ritual event where all who enter the space become participants
‘101 Ways to Stare at a Wall’, originally began as a provocative 8-minute performance event! It has actually been inspired by a particular piece of post-war avant-garde music, written by the iconic experimental US composer, John Cage. He liked to work with the Laws of Chance – ‘Indeterminancy’ - to help him compose his works, and I thought I might try that too! So, all stage directives have been worked out by the throwing of dice… And, it has now been expanded in layers, to fill approx. one hour!
It began when I almost lost my son, and he lost a year of his life to drugs
Drawing on elements of verbatim, physical and interactive theatre, this work will explore the myths and realities of motherhood from the highs to the lows and everything in between. The Monster's Mother is an open, honest and often moving portrayal of motherhood with verbatim contributions from mothers of all ages. It will be like nothing else you will see in the Festival.