Over 18 days this May, discover the nooks and crannies of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast in ways you never expected, as the 2018 Anywhere Theatre Festival happens anywhere but an actual theatre.
“Anywhere Theatre Festival is unlike any other festival of performances in the world,” says Founder Paul Osuch. “It doesn’t have a fence with an entry pass, you won’t find it in theatres and the theatre genre is only half of it, with circus, dance, music, poetry, comedy and installations.”
With everything from theatre in car parks, comedy in laneways, opera in reservoirs, dance in stairwells and quirky workshops exploring arts and craft from cooking to jewellery making, Australian Arts Review takes a look at ten shows worth checking out:
Cospla-gay-sian
Nash Playshed, New Farm: 10 – 27 May
Michael, Karen and Jake are the best of friends on the clubbing scene. Michael likes to cosplay and enjoys making wild fashion choices, but has no confidence when it comes to talking to men. Jake is handsome, confident but has no confidence admitting who he is or how he feels. Karen is just off her face to hide how she feels. One morning after a night without Michael clubbing, he tells them he is now a straight man. What does this mean for the trio? And how does this affect their actions when he invites them to dinner to meet his fiance?
Share House
Holy Trinity Church Hall, Fortitude Valley: 11 & 12 May
Fresh from rollicking performances at Festivals in Newcastle and Lismore, this “fantastic, joyous” show features housemates who encounter the tensions and joys of cohabitation as they dream of throwing the ultimate dance party. Integrated Dance Theatre was a Finalist in the 2017 Australian Dance Awards and is back with their special blend of social diversity, integration, artistic excellence and touching intimacy.
The Cube
The Mooloolaba Wharf: 12 May
An interactive visual installation composed of oceanic themed artwork with soundscapes, Rythmicolour Collective will be building and creating an interactive visual installation composed of oceanic themed artwork with soundscapes. A wooden cube consisting of 3 sides, a breathable fabric roof and open hinged panel door, shall be transformed into an outdoor art installation for the community to experience. Both outside and inside shall be painted based on their own artistic interpretation of the wonders of the unexplored depths of our coastal oceans. Adding to the visuals, a sound aspect will be involved, creating a diverse experience of interaction.
Carrot Man
Peregian Private Residence: 12 May / The Sideshow, West End: 13 May
Linsey Pollak didn’t want to be “Carrot Man” but the name sort of stuck (that’s what happens when a video with you drilling out a carrot and turning it into a clarinet goes viral). He tried to ignore the name, he even stopped making carrot clarinets for a while, but now he’s decided to embrace it, because after all, the Carrot Clarinet is the perfect example of his philosophy that “music is everywhere and we are all musicians”.
Metamorphoses
Buderim Aquatic Centre: 12 – 20 May
Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses are stories about change which occur by the water, in the water and through the water. The cast immerse themselves in Ovid’s myths and in the small heated pool, which is used to tell the stories. Through a melding of movement and drama, Metamorphoses includes the tales of Midas, Narcissus, Orpheus, Phaeton, Ceryx and Alcyone.
Invisible Things
Brisbane Powerhouse: 12 – 27 May
Have you ever felt boxed in? A woman confined by a 3x3m transparent box wrestles with the unspoken and the unseen: the voice in her head, her identity and her darkness. She uncovers and dissolves her invisible things. Derived from a secret and silent conversation kept through 17 years of personal journals this show begs the question: can we ever truly know another’s internal world? Circus and dance-theatre converge to shine a light on the insidious nature of invisible things.
The Ballad of Rosie Quinn
Spring Hill Reservoir: 18 – 20 May
How vivid is your imagination? A mix of campfire ghost story, popular true crime podcast Casefile and folk song that will leave your sixth sense tingling. Pull on your blindfold, sit in the dark of Spring Hill Reservoir, and this historically-informed fakelore will come to life all around you, in the place where it happened. Come on a journey to the hellish Moreton Bay Penal Colony, where young convict Rosie Quinn struggles to make a life for herself. A place renowned for its convict brutality, Moreton Bay was home to a small population of women convicts, whose lives were harsh and difficult, and completely dominated by men.
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Multiple venues: 18 – 20 May
A high-energy, emotionally charged cabaret that challenges the perceptions that ‘mental illness’ is a dirty word. It’s about mental wellness! It is a light-hearted trip, deep into the twisted rabbit-hole of the human psyche. As passionate as it is funny, the show will inspire, entertain and start that conversation we all need to have with ourselves and with each other. Karen Lee Roberts is tour guide on a journey of extremes based on real-life experiences and some figments of her unbridled imagination, and is joined onstage by legendary jazz and blues pianist, Jeff Usher, as they take you on a guided tour through the life of Alexandra (a facet of Karen’s personality).
The Youngest I Am Ever Going To Be
Daily Planet, Fortitude Valley: 26 & 27 May
Ethan Andrews grew up in a mining town with the highest ratio of men to women in Australia. He left because the author of a self-help book told him to. This one man show from one of New South Wales’ most exciting young stand ups is about choosing between change, stability and letting someone in. It will be making its Brisbane premiere following sold out shows at You Are Here and Bondi Feast and a season at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Giving Up The Ghosts
West End Central Carpark: 27 May
Steve and Ruth find each other on an internet forum. A week later, after meeting each other face-to-face for the first time, they drive together to a secluded place. A place where they won’t be found, where they are safe to prepare for what is to come. Based on real events, Giving Up the Ghosts imagines the final hours of two fatally entwined lives. A prescient and delicate examination of two lost souls who challenge and defy each other in an attempt to define what may be their final minutes. With the entire play being set within the carpark of an abandoned factory, the eerie atmosphere of this work will only be amplified by such real-world surroundings, providing a whole other level of experimentation to this piece.
The 2018 Anywhere Theatre Festival runs 10 – 27 May. For more information and complete program, visit: anywhere.is for details.
Image: Karen Lee Roberts stars in It’s Not Easy Being Green (supplied)