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Showing posts from November, 2020

Swallow Walk - Live Art Review

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What: Swallow Walk When: 1 - 28 November 2020 Where: Edwards Lake, Reservoir Created by: Sandra Fiona Long and Ria Soemardjo Performed by: John Cheong-Holdaway, Christopher De Groot, Jeremy Dullard, Natalia Gould, Sandra Fiona Long, Ron Reeves,  and Ria Soemardjo Ria Soemardjo, Sandra Fiona Long, et al In the arts we often talk about wanting to affect all of the senses encompassed within the human body and in Swallow Walk Sandra Fiona Long and Ria Soemardjo have done exactly that. Swallow Walk is a meditative experience. It is a chance for you and your body to feel the world rather than think it, which is our normal state of being in urban life. Long is a music and theatre artist who has lived near Edwards Lake for many years. She tries to walk around the lake every evening and in this troubling year of lockdowns she and her friend and collaborator, Soemardjo, have used the quiet and introspection of these months of isolation to create a way to share their personal experience of t

My Heart Is Aching And No One Can Save Me - Physical Theatre Review

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What: My Heart Is Aching And No One Can Save Me When: 25 - 28 September, 2020 Where: Digital Fringe Created and performed by: Sara Caputo Composition by: Josh Mitchell Sara Casus There is something which can be achieved with Digital Fringe which is almost impossible in a standard theatre and this is something which - if you take the artist's suggestion - is perfectly exemplified in Sara Caputo 's new solo piece, My Heart Is Aching And No One Can Save Me . You can imagine what I am about to describe or you could just experience for yourself by registering for the show. There you are, lazing indulgently in a warm bath, glass of wine in hand, the only light a candle or two flickering in the steam.. Bubbles are optional. On your laptop or tablet, skillfully balanced, you watch a woman almost asleep, naked in a steaming bath as well. You want your audience to empathise? You want them to get into the world of the character? It is impossible to create a stronger connection than someth

#txtshow (on the internet) - Live Art Review

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 What: #txtshow (On The Internet) When: 24 - 29 November 2020 Where: Digital Fringe Created by: Brian Feldman Performed by: Brian Feldman and Morgan Johnson #txtshow (on the internet) COVID 19 has kicked the live performance world in the guts, it's true. But what has emerged is an exciting army of artists who have not let themselves be cowered into hiding. Some have tried to tame the beast which is internet performance, some have tried to play with the beast, and then there are artists like Brian Feldman . A devotee of meaningful coincidence (or synchronicity) in his art, Feldman allows the audience to play with each other through Zoom. From what I can make out, #txtshow (on the internet) is doing the fringe festival circuit across the world - something which has become so very much easier and accessible to artists and audiences alike in this lockdown era. The event has arrived in Melbourne. I suspect the outcomes will have a very unique flavour with this city having just emerged

Freshly Minted - Theatre Review

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What: Freshly Minted When: 22 November, 2020 Where: La Mama Online Written by: Fergus Black, Brigid Charis, William Foley, Georgi McLaren, Erin Miller, David Rorkell, and Alyssa Trombino,  Performed by: La Trobe University students and alumni The Bugs La Mama is famed for providing presentation partnerships with the universities across Melbourne and the most recent collaboration is this year's digital festival, La Mama North Fringe , which is a presentation of works by La Trobe students and alumni. COVID 19 meant the annual La Trobe Moat Festival couldn't happen and La Mama North has the potential to become a regular part of the annual programming for both entities. La Mama North consisted of 2 Zoom performances, an audio drama, and Freshly Minted . Freshly Minted is a collection of 20 minute Zoom performances written and performed by current students and alumni and it is a fascinating collection indeed! Between 12pm and 4:30pm a collection of 7 short plays and monologues

A Red Square - Live Art Review

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What: A Red Square When: 14 - 29 November 2020 Where: Delivered to you Created by: Pony Cam The first thing I need to say is do not be fooled by this image ! A Red Square is definitely Adults Only. Believe the content warnings when they say it contains "Violence, Self Harm or Suicide, Sexual References, Death, Murder". The second thing I need to say is that A Red Square is truly post-dramatic in that late 1970's, stream of consciousness kind of way so whatever I say it is about will be meaningless. Perfectly post-dramatic in the academic sense, A Red Square is a seeming jumble of ideas and found objects and trains of thought which are brought together in a completely unique (and probably incomprehensible) combination of signs and symbols which some will revere and others will shy away from in horror and despair. This is trademark Pony Cam. So what is A Red Square ? To begin with, this event is a PowerPoint presentation. Upon registration, a USB memory stick will be d