Cain and Abel

The Rabble Cain and Abel photo by Brett BoardmanAn electrifying theatrical experience, a provocative and bloody retelling of a story that has stained the earth and our psyche for millennia, The Rabble presents the Melbourne premiere of Cain and Abel at The Substation from 20 July 2016.

The biblical story of Cain and Abel is the tale of the first act of violence – an act that ricocheted across time. It envisions our history as man on man, brother on brother, blood on the earth. Well beyond its religious beginnings, it is a story that has defined our contemporary understanding of violence.

Reimagining the bloody biblical story with their trademark feminist skew, The Substation’s resident company, The Rabble depicts the story as a female one, with two sisters at the centre of the work. The sisters, portrayed by Mary Helen Sassman and Dana Miltins, recreate the first act of violence over and over again, a drowning, a beheading, a beating – from biblical sanctity to the spectacle of Hollywood.

This is The Rabble at their best: a brave, iconoclastic and visually arresting work that questions our core assumptions about femininity and violence. Cain and Abel is the combined creative talents of Kate Davis (Co-creator/Designer), Emma Valente (Co-creator/ Designer) and Dana Miltins (Performer & Associate Artist).

“And while they were in the field Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” – Genesis 4

Director/Co-creator/LX+SFX Design: Emma Valente Featuring: Dana Miltins, Mary Helen Sassman Co-creator/Set and Costume Design: Kate Davis Creative Producer: Josh Wright Stage Manager: Sarah McKenzie

Cain and Abel
The Substation, 1 Market Street, Newport
Season: 21 – 30 July 2016 (preview: 20 July)
Information and Bookings: www.thesubstation.org.au

Image: The Rabble’s Cain and Abel – photo by Brett Boardman