A tragi-comedy about faith, sex, identity and ritual, Salvador Dinosaur presents the highly anticipated return of The Orchid and the Crow to Theatre Works from 4 May 2016.
Performed by Daniel Tobias, who reflects on his own real life experiences, The Orchid and the Crow is a deftly brave solo performance; part storytelling, part cabaret, part theatre, featuring original songs from the award-winning writers of Die Roten Punkte.
At eight days old Daniel’s secular Jewish parents chose to have him circumcised. Having not read the fine print in the Old Testament, this unknowingly triggered God’s ongoing contract with the Hebrews. In return for following his rules, God promised to look after the Israelites.
At 29, Daniel is an atheist, single and living the life of a bohemian artist in Carlton. And lo, God was not pleased! Appalled with Daniel’s lifestyle choices, God makes an example of him and appears on earth to smite him with stage four testicular cancer. Stage five is death.
As Dan prepares for his upcoming treatment he is left in a spiritual vacuum. He is reaching for faith in something, but he’s certainly not going to find it in a deity who has already stolen one of his balls. Instead, Daniel finds salvation in an unlikely modern messiah, seven-time winner of the Tour de France and testicular cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. Now of course, Armstrong is a fallen angel and after Daniel’s full recovery, he wonders – how many times will he be cheated by a God?
Directed by Christian Leavesley and fresh from critical success as part of the The Coopers Malthouse resident artist initiative in 2015, Adelaide Fringe 2016 and international tours of Canada and Edinburgh, The Orchid and the Crow has been the recipient of numerous awards including: 2016 Green Room Award Winner (Best Writing – Cabaret); Adelaide Fringe Weekly Awards 2016 (Best Theatre Award); Ottawa Fringe 2015 (Outstanding Solo Performance); and London Free Press 2015 (Outstanding Individual Performance).
Creator / Performer: Daniel Tobias Director: Christian Leavesley Dramaturg: Casey Bennetto Script consultant: David Quirk Script Editor: Nicola Gunn Songs: Daniel Tobias and Clare Bartholomew with John Thorn, Jherek Bischoff, Casey Bennetto Back up vocals: Talei Wolfgramm Violin: Ernie Gruner Sound production: Ben Hense Lighting design: Lisa Mibus Props: Tirese Ballard Choreography: Bec Reid Illustrations: Sarah Beetson Animation: Darcy McFall
The Orchid and the Crow
Theatre Works, 14 Acland Street, St. Kilda
Season: 4 – 15 May 2016 (preview: 3 May)
Bookings: (03) 9534 3388 or online at: www.theatreworks.org.au
For more information, visit: www.theatreworks.org.au or www.orchidandcrow.com for details.
Image: Daniel Tobias in The Orchid and the Crow – photo by Andrew Wuttke