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See article in its original context here by Hannah Bambra for Melbourne Review.

Without pretence or forcefulness, Sydney’s Gallery 9 are creating an inter-state art scene.

For years Gallery 9 has promoted the work of Melbourne artists in their Darlinghurst exhibition space. To continue the exchange, the gallery is bringing the recent works of their acclaimed Sydney-based painters down to show at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne.

“This is a collection of wonderful artists with a broader appeal than the city that they live in,” says Will Sturrock, manager at Gallery 9.

The gallery happily acknowledges that a shared time and medium are the only elements that tie these artists together. Sturrock and his team have purposely avoided curating the collection and named it simply and honestly, Contemporary Painting. The result is an approachable, eclectic exhibition without a forcibly woven thread between the abstract and figurative paintings of the six artists who are on display.

The exhibition comes from an interesting standpoint as the work of each post-modern painter seems to resonate with one or many twentieth century painting styles. Julian Hooper, Tonee Messiah and Simon Blau create semi-abstract pieces, their gestural brush strokes and opaque shapes occasionally bleeding into classic fine art forms and figures.

See article in its original context here by Dylan Rainforth for Art Guide.

Yunuen Pérez and Sissy M. Reyes

Production designer Yunuen Pérez and cinematographer Sissy M. Reyes were friends in Mexico City before they moved to Melbourne and Sydney, respectively, around four years ago. While Pérez established herself in Melbourne’s independent theatre scene and Reyes worked in television they nurtured a project where they would have what Pérez calls “full directorship”. The results are the twelve powerful images on show in Mex-tli, Mexican Goddesses.

“We were looking,” Pérez says, “at indigenous cultures back in Mexico: the Aztecs, Mixtecs and many other different and ancient indigenous communities. We were very attracted to these storytellings and histories because we have a mix of that in Mexico: every single Mexican is part-indigenous and part-European.”

It’s no accident the show is called Mexican Goddesses. “The concept is strong female characters, dignified women who, regardless of the activities they are doing, are very powerful women.” Pérez says it was important for the duo to present empowered female archetypes, in defiance of what she sees as stereotypical depictions of “the Mexican macho man and the submissive woman beside him”.

See article in its original context here by Nina Bertok for The Melbourne Review.

TRUE LOVE TRAVELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD

When in pursuit of an extraordinary dream, some people disregard any possible consequences.

That’s the concept award-winning playwright Jane Miller is bringing to the Melbourne stages with her comedy-drama, True Love Travels On A Gravel Road. Set in regional Australia, Miller’s new work explores the tragedy of broken dreams alongside the freedom of choice through a cast of colourful (and relatable) characters.

According to the playwright, it all began with the characters themselves – long before a concrete plot was conceived.

“That’s the kind of writer I am, really,” Miller states. “I always know the characters long before I know what I’m trying to say with the story. The plot for True Love Travels On A Gravel Road came out of an idea that I had of these two guys sitting on a street in some little town. I pictured them doing a business transaction and the whole time there is a dog that keeps barking… And that’s basically where the whole play evolved from! I started thinking to myself, ‘Why are they doing this business transaction, what’s it leading up to, what’s the impact going to be?’ After that, all the details of the story came flooding in.”

Next came the main characters of the story – Jake and Maggie. Although Miller claims all of them are completely fictional, the playwright admits that there are elements of her within each one of the characters. Much like musicians tend to describe their songs, Miller says all of the play’s characters are her “babies”.

“There is one incident in the play that happens between two characters, which was inspired by something similar to a real-life happening that my mother told me about, but that’s as close as it gets,” she insists. “I truly relate to all of them, it’s like picking your favourite child. It’s interesting how I am much more forgiving of my characters and the things they do – no matter how wrong they may be – than I am of real people I know. You can learn a lot about yourself through your own writing. If a real person did something similar to one of the characters, I would say, ‘Oh, that’s really strange’ or, ‘Oh, that’s unacceptable’, but when it’s people that you invent, you feel bonded to them.”

True Love Travels On A Gravel Road tells the story of Jake – pegged the town “tard” all his life – who falls in love with Maggie – a girl also “out of step” with the community – with whom he wants to run away to Graceland, of all places. Jake and Maggie’s plans to escape the small rural town and get away from the locals – including Maggie’s straight-talking mother, philosopher Richard, and Jake’s boss and boss’ wife – turn into a near-obsession which sees the play explore the extent to which some people will go in pursuit of their own happiness.

All images by Sarah Walker.

See article in its original context here by Tintin Rahman.

Squawk It’s a murder of crows and parrots

Is that a parrot?” I ask, gesturing to the painting of a blue and green bird.
“Yes. It’s a Twenty-eight.”
“It’s a what?”
The redhead with ringlets in a blue and white spotted dress and black tights, the daughter of a bird-watcher, then explains that Twenty-eight parrots (also known as Port Lincoln parrots on the west coast) were named so because the sound they made was like the word twenty-eight.

Twenty-eight!” she squawks, as an example. There’s the irreverent Australian humour. She then tells me the story of that particular painting, Shuddering Echoes I.

A friend of a friend shot a twenty-eight. My friend then gave it to me. Dead birds are easier to paint,” she says smilingly.

By ‘she’, I mean 38 year-old Clare McFarlane, whose bird-centric exhibition, Murders and Echoes, is showing atfortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne CBD until April 20. Yes, while we are moving from summer to autumn, it’s best to think of pleasant indoor activities and events. Why not go on a ‘gallery crawl’ along Flinders Lane? While you’re doing that, check out fortyfivedownstairs, which is in full swing.

Besides Clare’s collection, Michael Pearce’s Unwrapped Hong Kong, a silent commentary about Hong Kong architecture, is on in the larger room at fortyfivedownstairs. Step onto the dark wooden floorboards spattered with white dots of paint and stare at some birds and buildings while listening to poignant instrumental and classical music. The plain scrolls of grey and blue skyscrapers made me think of how going overseas (the artist lived in Hong Kong for two years) has a profound effect on one’s life, how it broadens your perspective. Some Australians go to Japan and bring home a wife. Others go to Hong Kong and can’t forget the architecture. They can’t bring it back so they replicate it in their art.

Sondheim is the master of the musical and this little seen dark comedy is delightful in its score. The plot revolves around some of the most and least infamous would-be Presidential assassins in US history. Some names you will know, John Wilkes Booth and John Hinckley, and others are less well known.

Whilst the book by John Weidman is average the performances from the entire ensemble and Sondheim’s marvelous musical numbers more than made up for this.  Mark Dickinson’s portrayal of John Wilkes Booth struck the perfect note between hilarity and tragic irony. Vocally he was powerful. He inhabited the role of the vain actor so completely that the audience felt as if they were living within the character. The duet, The Ballad of Booth, performed by Dickinson and Nick Simpson-Deeks, as the balladeer, was impeccable.  In typical Sondheim fashion each character was required to seamlessly blend what are ostensibly two different songs into one, picking their key out of the air. It was quite simply marvelous and without a doubt the best song of the evening. Simpson-Deeks is an accomplished vocalist and owned his role as the balladeer whilst later transforming into a heart-breaking portrayal of possibly America’s best-known assassin.

Aaron Tsindos gave a brilliant performance at Charles Guiteau, endearing all the way to the gallows. Again Simpson-Deeks was called upon to chronicle the demise of Guiteau as the balladeer creating the second stand out number of the evening. Nadine Garner proved she has great skill as a comedic theatre performer with possibly the best part of the book, Sarah Jane Moore. She wonderfully brought to life a sad and forgotten housewife whom it was impossible for the audience not to love.  Her comic timing was impeccable. And while we’re on the topic of impeccable comic timing, Shane Nagle rates a special mention.  As a struggling Santa Claus and would be Nixon assassin, Nagle delivered his monologues with such pathos that you almost found yourself rooting for him to succeed in his plot.

Sam Shepard See article in its original context here by John Bailey on Sydney Morning Herald. Sam Shepard is one of the most-performed playwrights of the late 20th century but his non-theatrical writing is far less familiar to playgoers. A…

See article in its original context here by Erin James on Aussie Theatre.

We chat with actor Tod Strike about his role in the new production ofAssassins, which will commence performances tonight at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne.

Tod Strike was most recently seen in the 2012–13 tour of South Pacific and the Australian Premiere Production of Love Never Dies where he understudied the roles of Raoul and Phantom, performing both on numerous occasions.

What prompted you to audition for this particular production of Assassins?

Actually Tyran Parke, the director, asked me to audition for the role of Zangara. He said “I think you’d like the ‘sing’ of the role” so he sent me out the script to have a look at and once I read it and looked at some music, it was a no brainer. Had to do it.

It was also an added bonus of auditioning for a brand new company that had people behind it that I respected and had wanted to work with for a while. It ticked all the boxes.

Have you worked at fortyfivedownstairs before?

No I haven’t. I’ve only seen one thing at 45 downstairs — a Trevor Ashley show. Of course It was faaaaboulousss! But I remember thinking at the time that this venue would make a great setting for a small niche like musical or cabaret. The intimacy allows you to explore the audience reactions and grab their attention in a way that you obviously can’t in a huge theatre. Agreat space right in the heart of Melbourne.

Have you worked with Tyran before as a director?

I have only worked with Ty as a fellow cast member — South Pacific for The Production Company– but never as a director. This was actually the biggest drawcard for me to do this show. He is honestly one of the most talented, hardest working artists and directors I know and always comes from a place of ‘where the drama is taking us’. The emphasis is heavy on the acting driving the show and what the text is saying first and foremost. This is an area that i wanted to move into as a singer and believe all good musical theatre should stem from. The piece and what it has to say driving everything forward rather than the songs being the most important dramatic aspect. If i had my study time again I would have been an actor who sings rather than a singer who acts. You know what I mean?

See article in its original context here by Andrew Furhmann for Time Out.

Sondheim’s black comedy Assassins comes to fortyfive downstairs, and Time Out has director Tyran Parke in its sights.

Set amidst the rubble of a travelling carnival, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s black comedy Assassins takes the audience on a musical romp through the minds of nine disturbed characters, each each one gunning for an American president. Starring Nadine Garner and Nick Simpson-Deeks,Assassins is a Broadway classic with bang, set to challenge and entertain in equal proportions.

Time Out spoke with director Tyran Parke ahead of the show’s premiere.

Hi there Tyran, what was your first Sondheim experience?
My first “Sondheim experience” was when my group of school friends didn’t know what to buy me for my fourteenth birthday. They knew I was into musicals so they bought me the video of Sunday in the Park with Georgestarring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. I did not understand what it was about, but I was intrigued by it and completely transported by the performances. Many years later I happened to run into Mandy Patinkin on the Street in New York and later met Bernadette Peters in an elevator. Maybe it was inevitable that I would play the role of George in the Australian Premiere.

Where did you first come by Assassins?
To be honest, when I was studying at WAAPA. The third years were doing it when I was in second year and they didn’t have enough guys, so a few of us stepped up into the chorus. I loved it – the show, and also the ability to play with the cool group. I never dreamed I would be directing it years later with such a top cast.

Broadway and political assassination – it makes sense, right?
Well, it did to Sondheim who, thank God, has made a career out of re-inventing the form of musical theatre. To be honest, the characters are so theatrical and Sondheim was very clever to create Assassins as a revue, the musical numbers are all based on popular American styles of the past 200 years so it has a historical context we can easily connect to. He writes musicals for people who don’t like musicals – they are dark and challenging and always very funny but BLACK. Assassins seems somehow perfect for his tastes and we are certainly the richer for it.

See article in its original context here on Stage Whispers

Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s killer black comedy (musical) Assassins kicks off amidst the lurid debris of a travelling carnival, taking the audience on a kaleidoscopic ride through the psychological landscape of nine notorious historical figures – men and women who, for one reason or another, made attempts on the lives of American presidents.

Directed by Tyran Parke, with Nick Simpson-Deeks as Lee Harvey Oswald and Nadine Garner as Sarah Jane Mooreamong the cast of this new production at Melbourne’s fortyfivedownstairs in April, Assassinsdelves into dark side of the American Dream and its aggrandising notions of entitlement and “manifest destiny”.

“I didn’t want to kill anybody, but there comes a point when the only way you can make a statement is to pick up a gun.“ Sarah

With a score by Stephen Sondheim (Academy Award-winning composer and lyricist, also known for Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Company, Follies)and a book by John Weidman, Assassins examines the lives, loves and lunacy of nine American assassins, including John Wilkes Booth, John Hinckley, Lee Harvey Oswald and Sarah Jane Moore.

“Assassins is both terrifically funny and terrifying,” says director, Tyran Parke. “As a show, it strikes that perfect balance between challenging ideas and sheer entertainment.

See article in its original context here on Broadsheet. Yunuen Pérez, costume designer, and Sissy Reyes, cinamatographer, join together in this exhibition of striking and vibrant photographs labelled Mex-tli, Mexican Goddess. With only twelve images to the exhibition, the attention to…

See article in its original context here by Erin James for Aussie Theatre.

Watch This’ brand new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins commences at fortyfivedownstairs this Wednesday night starring Nadine Garner and Nick Simpson-Deeks. Erin James spoke with Director Tyran Parke about this exciting new company and their wonderful new production.

Method for a successful musical:

1. Choose your actor driven, well crafted show

2. Enlist a passionate director with a strong vision

3. Cast a group of dedicated and spirited actors to bring the piece to life

4. Combine all ingredients in a rehearsal room for four weeks (10am — 6pm), support them with a venue and promotion, and watch your masterpiece unfold.

Seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? But after speaking with Tyran Parke last week about his upcoming production of Assassins, it seems the producers (startup company Watch This, with Sonya Suares at the helm) might have followed this method to a tee. And the product is set to be sensational.

“It’s a great cast — a great cast, Erin, I love them” Parke told me one morning before rehearsals commenced last week. “They bring a huge wealth of preparation and experience I kind of have a show crush on all of them!”

Starring Nadine Garner (most recently seen as Jean in Dr Blake’s Mysteries on ABC), Nick Simpson-Deeks, Matt Holly, Tod Strike, Sonya Suares, Luigi Lucente, Mark Dickinson and more, the company of actors Parke has assembled for this musical are top notch. Parke explains that the month long rehearsal period has been an incredible journey, and every member of the company has put it an enormous amount of effort to bring the show to life.

See article in its original context here by Victor Perton, ANZMEX President

Next month, Melbourne will see an interesting photographic exhibition Mex-tli, Mexican Goddesses that consists of 12 images created by artists Yunuen Pérez Martínez and Sissy M. Reyes.  It will be exhibited in one of my favourite galleries forty-five downstairs.   I was lucky enough to catch up with the artists and have them answer a few questions for ANZMEX members and our friends.

How did you come to settle in Australia?

YP: I came to Australia in 2007 to study a Postgraduate Diploma at the Victorian College of the Arts. After graduation, I stayed in Melbourne as my partner is studying a PhD. I have been working in the Melbourne arts scene since 2007.

SR: I came to Australia as a student. It was not my intention to stay but I started getting jobs in film production and advertising so I decided to stay a bit longer. I want to live in Mexico as well but for now, my career is developing in Australia.

What do you enjoy the most about living in Australia?

YP: I enjoy the multicultural experience in the everyday life. I also believe Melbourne is a cultural hub in high demand and working as a designer in this city is enriching due to the multidisciplinary projects you can get involved.

SR: I was intrigued about the relationship between the country’s rich cultural diversity and what I thought was an unfulfilled sense of identity of “what it means to be Australian”. In Mexico, cultural identity though complex is very loud, colourful and clear but Australian culture is much more subtle. Getting to know these subtleties has made me enjoy and appreciate life here much more.

See article in its original context here by Fiona Welsh. DC3: The Ringtone Cycle, at Fortyfive downstairs until April 7 PREPARE for a sensory overload of epic proportions when this trio hits the stage. The DC3, with former TISM frontman…

See article in its original context here by Cameron Woodhead for The Age.

This triple bill of musical comedy acts at fortyfivedownstairs has some high notes.

The stand-out is The Ringtone Cycle, which has bugger all to do with Wagner, really. The show’s flimsy hook is a grant application to remake Wagner’s Ring as an ultra-short performance installation choked with modish ideas, a critique of the attention-sapping nihilism of 21st-century technology.

But that’s just a pretext for a diatribe from the brains behind TISM, Damian Cowell, whose brand of gloriously witty ranting drips with nostalgia for a bygone Australia where things were allowed to be a bit shit and could still be embraced by mainstream culture.

It will have you hungering, if not for a Chiko roll or a cup of International Roast, then at least for the possibility of them.

Sharp satirical songs from ageing rockers include: boppy tributes to no longer popular Google search words and a shambolic finale strewn with half-used dunny rolls.

It’s a brilliant and snarky show, perfect for anyone who’s sick of the trendy and forgettable side of 21st-century life.

See article in its original context here by Eliza Goetze for The Vine.

Many great films have been made into musicals over the years.

The Room is not one of them.

In other words, it’s by no means a great film. In fact, it’s almost universally acknowledged as one of the worst movies ever (at odds with the claim at the end of the trailer that it’s the best); “the Citizen Kane of shit movies”.

But it’s this – the appalling acting, the cliché and often nonsensical lines (“YOU’RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!” “Oh hi Mark”), the arduous sex scenes and the ridiculous plot – that unites an inexplicably huge cult of fans, who might be excited to know that one obsessive enthusiast, Sydney’s Matt Downey, has translated Tommy Wisseau’s staggeringly awkward masterpiece into musical theatre.

“It’s definitely a dessert of intrigue,” he says of the film, dryly. “You can’t stop at just one view.”

Indeed, he’s seen it more than forty times now. “There’s a new little ‘easter egg’, as they say in video games – a new little treat every time I watch it.”

With a day job as a stage builder in Sydney, Downey works behind the scenes in theatre, but it’s his first foray into writing a production himself – “and, judging by ticket sales, the last,” he deadpans, a self-described “master of self-deprecation and a great fatalist”. “I had no interest in musical theatre, but I’m a great piss taker.”

The very idea of musical theatre is incredibly odd and “kind of perverse” to Downey. Many people wish that life was a musical, I offer.

He thinks it would be “a horrible existence. “I don’t think we’d all be singing joyfully about sunshine and skipping…people would be singing Get The Fuck Off The Road, Get Out Of My Way, Hurry Up, Hurry Up!”

He saw the creation of musical theatre parody as a challenge, and with some time on his hands and no small encouragement from his wife, Katie Jane (who plays alongside him in their band, Death Mattel), his idea grew from a one man show into a more involved production that’s been a couple of years in the making, on and off.

While Downey wrote the script, The Roomsical stars Jeremy Smith, Amanda Porter, Emily Faye, Anthony Ousback and Dave Rennick (of indie band Dappled Cities), and Downey describes director Ben Thatcher as “the filthy genius who held this all together”.

WHEN best friends Andrew and John find themselves washed up on a make-believe desert island, tensions run high, emotions fray and friendships are tested as they work out how to survive.

This hour-long show is well-prepared and the storyline flows consistently.

It is camp, the acting is overdramatic and there is no downtime in this high-energy cabaret.

It is easy watching, and I found myself smiling throughout at the overdose of cheesy puns and word play.

They clearly love their craft and enjoy interacting with the audience, much to its delight on the night.

They boys have fabulous voices – backed up by a talented pianist – and have cleverly rewritten popular songs that navigate the narrative.

They keep the audience on its toes by quickly switching between characters that include singing beach balls, vindictive coconuts and Jamaican speaking crabs.

Pre-recorded video scenes that are peppered throughout help deepen the plot and give the boys a further chance to showcase their acting and singing abilities.

See article in its original context here by Andrew Watts for What’s On Comedy.

The Bad Boys Of Music Theatre are All Washed Up. And, as it would turn out, they’ve washed up onto the stage of FortyFiveDownstairs; a trendy little theatre at the top end of Flinders Lane. Having arrived at the show with a few minutes to spare, we stocked up on drinks and popcorn before settling into a table in the front row. The remaining tables filled quickly and it wasn’t long before an expectant buzz filled the air. Yet I couldn’t help but feel somewhat uneasy. The crowd looked almost too artsy — if that’s possible. A bit too theatre. And as the house lights dimmed I realised the source of my discomfort. I don’t really like music theatre.

But it turns out All Washed Up is more cabaret than music theatre. And thanks to an original script laced with enough puns and innuendo to sink a ship, I soon found myself realising that whilst I don’t like music theatre, I do like this.

All Washed Up centres around the VCA-trained Bad Boys, Andrew Strano and John Frankland, being stranded on a deserted island and follows them as they attempt to figure out how they got there and how they’ll get home. Using a combination of pre-recorded footage, audience interaction and on-stage banter, the hour-long show maintains a rollicking pace thanks to the infectious enthusiasm and easy-going rapport of its two stars. But it is the calibre of the songs that really takes the show to another level; showcasing the duo’s considerable writing and musical talents. And boy can those Bad Boys sing.

See article in its original context here by Michael Dwyer for The Age.

Damian Cowell promises ”only the most accidental resemblance to Wagner” in The Ringtone Cycle, his first Melbourne Comedy Festival show after 30 years as a rock’n’roll provocateur.

His band the DC3, named in chronological deference to previous outfits TISM and Root, will keep the electro-rock pumping but with longer gaps between tunes as their leader inverts the usual banter-to-boogie ratio. ”The idea came out of the fact that my between-song bits have got longer and longer,” says the formerly balaclava-clad TISM identity known as Humphrey B. Flaubert.

”We played Big Sound, the music industry conference in Brisbane last year, and I launched into this monologue about Clare Bowditch getting banned from junior football matches because she threw a stubby at an umpire.

”Everyone just stared at me. The kind of uncomprehending semi-horror on people’s faces gave me a real thrill.”

Similarly fabricated anecdotes about Keith Richards, Ike Turner and others had stockpiled when the Comedy Festival presented itself as an outlet. All Cowell needed was an idea that might loosely ”tie the bullshit together”.

”I have some sophisticated friends and they let me know what’s important to know in the world of culture and arts,” he says. ”I knew ‘Wagnerian’ was an adjective but I didn’t realise this Ring Cycle was 16 f—ing hours long!”

The more he learnt about the epic operatic event to be staged in Melbourne in November – ”I mean, tickets start at $1000!” – the more his finely tuned radar for cultural elitism and pretentiousness began twitching.

See article in its original context here by Lisa Clark for Squirrel Comedy.

Having just come from another more traditional stand up type of comedy festival show, the atmosphere and audience at Fortyfivedownstairs is distinctly different to a typical comedy crowd. There’s an arty rock n Roll feel. Is that someone I’ve seen perform on Rockwiz? Is that someone wearing sunglasses at night? Is that man on stage an ex lead singer from This Is Serious Mum? If you’re too young to remember TISM you might know their song Somebody Start a Fight or Something used as the Theme for Paul Provenza’s The Green Room. If you’re too young to remember TISM this might not be the show for you.

Damian Cowell is still angry about a lot of stuff and is still amused by so much that abhors him that he is able to turn it into comedy. The only difficulty for the audience is keeping up with his avalanche of satire. The opening is a bombardment of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyrie, a welcome song about the gathering with traces of nuts and a lengthy spoken word monologue somewhere between poetry and stand up. Meanwhile you are trying to read all the words projected onto the white wall behind the band. The words can get quite dense with the back wall occasionally resembling a telephone book (remember them?) but become more effective when it features one word at a time. The best approach is to let it all wash over you, take in what you can and enjoy laughing at the funny bits. Things repeat enough to build up a kind of concept collage that comes together to make sense.

See article in its original context here by Kathryn Kernohan for Timeout.

You may have seen DC3’s name around town – the three-piece regularly pack out pubs, and last year raised more than $10,000 via Pozible to record its recently-released second album May Contain Traces of Nut.

The DC3’s music is loud and catchy, and the involvement of former TISM creator Damian Cowell means the lyrics are biting and witty – but by no means should the band ever be put alongside Tripod and the Bedroom Philosopher in the ‘musical comedy’ basket.

With this in mind, the band’s inclusion on the Comedy Festival bill seemed a little strange at first. But it makes sense when the hour-long Ringtone Cycle – the band’s low-budget interpretation of Richard Wagner’s epic four-part opera The Ring Cycle – turns out to have less emphasis on the rock and more on Cowell’s stories.

There’s a surreal but always funny narrative in several parts, spanning everything from the musician’s nostalgia for Chiko rolls to the AFL drugs scandal and the whereabouts of one-time party boy Corey Worthington.

See article in its original context here. Article by Nina Bertok.

For the first time in a decade KAGE co-founders Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyck have returned to the stage for a performance that both explores and blurs traditional gender roles.

Revisiting some of the pair’s earliest ideas and focusing on the power of illusion, Denborough says Flesh And Bone is also very much a celebration of her 20-year-long creative partnership with Van Dyck. A visually stunning performance and a real feast for the eyes, the new work also sees the duo collaborating with Melbourne fashion designer Lisa Gorman, lighting designer Paul Jackson and feminist writer Clementine Ford.

“Gerard and I haven’t performed together for about 10 years so, for us, Flesh And Bone is about going back to our roots and remembering why we started this company in the first place,” Denborough says. “We’re going back to our roots. We also relate to this issue of gender equality because our own partnership revolves around male and female issues in a physical sense. We’ve got young children and so we’re looking into gender in terms of perception, too – we’re focusing on the code of conduct of little girls and little boys and what’s enforced on them at a young age. There is a lot of intimacy and closeness in the performance and there’s also a focus on the carnal, animal need for connection and closeness. Also, Gerard and I are similar height and weight so we’re able to easily switch and revolve the prosthetic make-up and the costumes, which is kind of humorous as well.”

Although Denborough claims she has missed the physical performance aspect of theatre over the past 10 years, the award-winning creative director and co-founder of KAGE says time away has given her a fresh perspective on the discipline.

See article in its original context here. Published on Broadway World by Jacqueline Bublitz.

On this unseasonably warm night, in this intimate cave of a performance space, the air will soon be ripe with the pungent smell of tomatoes and longing. It turns out the two go well together, unexpectedly, deliciously, when served up in FLESH AND BONE, the latest piece from KAGE Creative Directors and performers Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyck.

The dance-theatre of FLESH & BONE manages to stimulate a fair portion of the senses in fact, fusing as it does sight, sound and smell. And yes, you can almost reach out and touch the metaphor when the ridiculously capable sinew and muscle of Denborough and Van Dyck extends and twists through a series of movement and dance exploring – in their own words – the construction of attraction and our primal need to be connected.

FLESH AND BONES is ambitious no doubt, but it just so happens that dance is the perfect art form to explore grand themes in small spaces. There is art implicit within the human body after-all, and when expressed by masters of the form like Denborough and Van Dyck, the effect is that of great truths being whispered quietly.

See article in its original context here. Conceived and performed by Kate Denborough and Gerard Van Dyck, Flesh and Bone, presented at Fortyfivedownstairs by KAGE aims to investigate the primal need for human, emotional bonds whilst simultaneously challenging traditional concepts of…

See article in its original context here on Stage Whispers.

Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s killer black comedy (musical) Assassins kicks off amidst the lurid debris of a travelling carnival, taking the audience on a kaleidoscopic ride through the psychological landscape of nine notorious historical figures – men and women who, for one reason or another, made attempts on the lives of American presidents.

Directed by Tyran Parke, with Nick Simpson-Deeks as Lee Harvey Oswald and Nadine Garner as Sarah Jane Mooreamong the cast of this new production at Melbourne’s fortyfivedownstairs in April, Assassinsdelves into dark side of the American Dream and its aggrandising notions of entitlement and “manifest destiny”.

“I didn’t want to kill anybody, but there comes a point when the only way you can make a statement is to pick up a gun.“ Sarah

With a score by Stephen Sondheim (Academy Award-winning composer and lyricist, also known for Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Company, Follies)and a book by John Weidman, Assassins examines the lives, loves and lunacy of nine American assassins, including John Wilkes Booth, John Hinckley, Lee Harvey Oswald and Sarah Jane Moore.