Tag Archives: shopfront

Review: Artslab: Body Of Work (Shopfront Arts Co-op)

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Venue: 107 (Redfern NSW), Mar 22 – Apr 2, 2023
Images by Clare Hawley

Quadrants
Playwright/Director/Cast: Flynn Mapplebeck

Under The Influence
Playwrights: Ana Fenner, Amelia Gilday
Director: Amelia Gilday
Cast: Ana Fenner

Zest
Playwrights: Lu Bradshaw, Mina Bradshaw
Director: Mina Bradshaw
Cast: Michael Ho, Jessica Melchert, Bailey Tanks, Sophie Florence Ward

Theatre review

In Quadrants, grownup single child Flynn Mapplebeck recounts his days in lockdown, and connects those experiences with other memories of loneliness. It is a work of great idiosyncrasy, with Mapplebeck’s easy charm sustaining our attention effortlessly through the  duration. A slideshow features prominently in the humorous presentation, along with exhilarating music, both adding substantively to the richness of Mapplebeck’s whimsical show. Quadrants communicates with a distinct blitheness, but speaks volumes between the lines, about the state of our social disconnectedness.

Ana Fenner and Amelia Gilday explore in Under the Influence, the frustrations of a woman as she embarks on the journey of gender transition. Fenner is sole performer of the piece, working intimately with live and recorded video projections that represent effectively, the entanglements of self identification with our culture of pervasive digital imagery. A memorable segment involving physical endurance, reveals both Fenner’s dedication and despair, in a work that looks to be an autobiographical expression of a transgender experience in the current epoch.

Lu and Mina Bradshaw take us to the absurd world of wellness, in their hilarious farce Zest, set in an expensive retreat, where individuals unravel over several weeks, in hopes of attaining some imagined condition of enlightenment. Directed by Mina Bradshaw, Zest delivers genuine hilarity, and big belly laughs, through its scathing parodies of ignorant devotees and their desperation, as they are put through the wringer, of commodified torment. An excellent cast of four, Michael Ho, Jessica Melchert, Bailey Tanks and Sophie Florence Ward, depict with mock earnestness and biting sarcasm, the comical but brutal deterioration taking place at the glorified camp. We watch well-meaning people act in stupid ways, gleefully snickering from our position of sanctimony, but also aware of the very fine lines that separate us from them.

There is a commonality between the three presentations, that relate to the very real human feeling of inadequacy. It seems that deeply entrenched in Australian life, is our constant submission to this interminable sentiment of feeling not enough. There is something in our history of European colonialism, and in the forms of patriarchy and capitalism that have taken hold subsequently, that require of us, this ubiquitous need to always prove ourselves to be better, that what we have and who we are, is always deficient.

It is a mechanism of subjugation, so that we permit others to forever have dominance over us, so that sovereignty over our lives is never to be claimed by the self. It should not be radical or anarchic to love oneself unconditionally, but it seems that thinking that there is nothing wrong with the self, and that all the faults are with systems one has no choice but to operate under, is the most revolutionary of all the paths to mindful transformation.

www.shopfront.org.au

Review: Artslab: Here We Are Again! (Shopfront Arts Co-op)

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Venue: 107 (Redfern NSW), Nov 23 – 27, 2022
Images by Clare Hawley

Dalo Chips and Imli Chutney
Playwright/Director: Varuna Naicker
Cast: Karina Bracken, Madhullika Singh, Veena Sudarshan

Unkissed
Playwright/Director/Cast: Sarah Carroll

Theatre review

Piyal is in love with a married man, and trying to get her Fiji Indian family to understand her situation is challenging. Even though they live in Australia, where individuals enjoy greater rights and freedoms, Piyal’s respect for her own traditions means that she is unable to disregard what her family thinks. Dalo Chips and Imli Chutney by Varuna Naicker explores the tensions between cultures, from the perspective of those who live in the middle of conflicting values.

Naicker’s writing is well observed, insightful not only with the themes concerned, but also the emotions that emerge from having to navigate those quandaries. Three generations of women in the household are performed by Karina Bracken, Madhullika Singh and Veena Sudarshan, who bring integrity, along with intensity, to the story. A greater appreciation for the humour that inevitably arises from dilemmas of this nature, would make for a more engaging experience, but the message being conveyed remains important.

Unkissed is a one-woman show created by Sarah Carroll, based on the simple notion that the 24-year-old artist has yet to experience her first kiss. It begins as a parody of a PowerPoint presentation, demonstrating the extent to which Carroll researches on the subject, and subsequently escalates into something altogether more surreal and extravagant. The artist’s presence is strong, with an effortless capacity to hold our attention. The writing is cleverly structured, but not always substantial. There is a bravery in her performance style that could be applied to the text, for a more incisive look into the minds of the post-millennial generation.

Lighting design by Justin Phan for both shows, are ambitious and stirring, effective at providing enhancement to atmosphere, as required by the respective plot trajectories. Sound by Prema Yin for Dalo Chips and Imli Chutney is quietly sentimental, adding a sensual richness to the story.

Carroll and Naicker are both young women, going through all the normal things young women do, with the additional pursuit of making art. Art presents a unique opportunity for our young to find their place in the world. It takes a person out of themselves, making them find ways to care for others, in a mode of social communication that always holds one responsible, for what one releases unto the world. Artists are a species that interrogate deeper, and more persistently. It is a responsibility that must never be taken lightly.

www.shopfront.org.au

Review: Tiny Universe (PACT Centre For Emerging Artists)

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Venue: PACT Centre for Emerging Artists (Erskineville NSW), May 20 – 29, 2021
Directors: Margot Politis, Natalie Rose
Cast: Harrison Bishop, Desmond Edwards, Lana Filies, Lily Hayman, Steve Konstantopoulos, Matthias Nudl, Nick Vagne, Lucy Watson
Images by

Theatre review
In Tiny Universe by Margot Politis and Natalie Rose, eight characters are contained within their own eight-foot cubes, pondering aloud, their relationships with the outside world. We hear about their anxieties and their dreams, as they offer anecdotes and introspections, from each of their intimate personal spaces. These people are alone, but also part of something bigger. As the audience’s attention is spread across each of these individuals, who only make themselves fleetingly available, we begin to form a picture of our collective existence, and an idea of what humanity can look like.

Unable to delve deep enough into any of these personalities, we can only appreciate the broad strokes of what is being presented. Even without the benefit of understanding the intricacies of what happens inside each box, Politis and Rose provides a tenderness to the treatment of their subjects, that move us to a certain state of empathy; both for those on stage, as well as the persons we are, silent and contemplative in our respective seats.

The performers are charming, and highly idiosyncratic with what they generously offer, in these stories about selfhood and of community. Attractive lighting by Liam O’Keefe proves memorable, for providing a pop aesthetic to the staging, that keeps sensibilities firmly in the now. James Peter Brown’s diverse musical stylings, usher us through a range of mood transformations, always gentle in his manipulation of feelings. Politis’ impactful set design is constructed by Will Jacobs and Sophie Ward, who bring to the production a pleasing sense of refinement.

It is perhaps in our solitude, that we can access that which is most true. Self-expression is often contingent on our expectation of how things will be received, but in Tiny Universe, we see the possibility of self-discovery in a way that is uncompromised, when we can find a space to be spared of judgement. This however, is much more involved, than to make the self physically detached. Society is so much in the mind, whether or not our bodies are in the company of others. Tiny Universe gives us examples of what could be, when a person simply exists on their own terms. We then lament how hard it is to remain as such, in interactions with the wider world.

www.shopfront.org.au | www.milkcratetheatre.com

Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)
Tiny Universe (Shopfront/Milk Crate, 2021)

Review: Artslab: Behind Closed Doors (Shopfront Arts Co-op)

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Venue: 107 (Redfern NSW), Feb 26 – Mar 1, 2020
Images by Clare Hawley

Stalls
Playwrights: Lana Filies, Lily Hensby
Devised and performed by: Lana Filies, Olivia Harris, Lily Hensby, Cara Severino

Little Jokes In Times Of War
Written, directed and performed by: Charlotte Salusinszky

Stripped
Written, directed and performed by: Luke Standish

Theatre review
Artslab: Behind Closed Doors features five works, three of which are in the theatrical form. Created by young emerging artists, they combine to offer a refreshing experience, even if style and tone are extremely varied from one to another.

Stalls is a collaboration between Lana Filies and Lily Hensby, exploring toilet humour with a feminist approach, inspired by the concept of an idealised woman that allows no capacity for the most basic of all bodily functions, defecation. The performance is devised by the writers, along with additional cast members Olivia Harris and Cara Severino, for a riotously funny show that stridently rejects notions of sugar and spice and all things nice. Chemistry between the four is joyous, for an effervescent thirty minutes that entertains from an unmistakably political perspective.

Charlotte Salusinszky goes in search of her Hungarian roots in Little Jokes In Times Of War, and unearths a story of inter-generational trauma through an examination of her grandmother’s life. Salusinszky’s almost psychic impulses function as a mode of connection with her family history, inspiring a sort of time travel, going back to locate ancestral meanings, so that she can find, and crystallise, herself in the process. It is a rich text that comes to be, and the artist’s remarkable proficiency on stage, as performer and director, is a revelation.

The thoughts of an erotic stripper are documented in Luke Standish’s Stripped, a poetic and melancholic look at one man’s experience of employment in the adult industry. It is, appropriately, a predominantly physical presentation, but made abstract in a way that reveals, more than anything, the subject’s emotional state. Even at just half an hour, Stripped is repetitive, unable to provide significant elucidation beyond the predictable and obvious, but its imagery is compelling, whether Standish chooses to be clothed or not.

We live full lives behind closed doors, but it is what can be shown to others, that determines so much of identity. Art is most valuable when it lifts the veil on that which lays dormant. Art helps us know ourselves, and as narcissistic humans, that promise of reaching deeper into our own truths, is a huge thrill. Theatre furthers that mission, by coalescing truth into consensus, so that when we sit side by side in a darkened room, something magnanimous unites us, if and when the magic happens.

www.shopfront.org.au

Little Jokes In Times Of War 2020 Shopfront Arts Co-op
Stalls 2020 Shopfront Arts Co-op
Stripped 2020 Shopfront Arts Co-op

5 Questions with Mathew Coslovi and Wendi Lanham

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Mathew Coslovi

Wendi Lanham: What’s the last risk you took?
The last risk I took was going on a cruise to New Zealand with 6 girls.

Why did you start acting?
I got into acting because acting felt like no job that I have ever felt the same about.

What’s your favourite part of the show?
My fashion, taking off my old clothes and getting into my new, better clothes.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
No!

Has this show changed you in some way? If so how/why?
I feel like I have learnt a lot about myself and I feel like I have learnt more about life.

Wendi Lanham

Mathew Coslovi: What’s the last risk you took?
The last risk I took was to say yes to full time job, whilst acting. Juggling the two has definitely been a challenge.

If you weren’t an actor what would you be doing?
I wouldn’t feel fulfilled for one. But if I had to do something else I would be a skydiving instructor.

What makes you laugh?
Pretty much everything. I laugh a lot and my witch laugh is renowned.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I do yoga before every show. It helps me warm up and focus.

What is the best advice you have been given in regards to acting?
To always use your fellow actors, to listen to them and to react. To direct your focus away from yourself and think about what you are trying to do to the other character. To be confident, be easy to work with and to love what you do!

Mathew Coslovi and Wendi Lanham can be seen in Dignity Of Risk devised by Shopfront’s Harness Ensemble and ATYP.
Dates: 9 – 26 Aug, 2017
Venue: ATYP

Review: Dignity Of Risk (ATYP / Shopfront Arts)

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Venue: ATYP (Walsh Bay NSW), Aug 9 – 26, 2017
Dramaturg: Jennifer Medway
Director: Natalie Rose
Cast: Mathew Coslovi, Holly Craig, Teneile English, Caspar Hardaker, Riana Shakirra Head-Toussaint, Steve Konstantopoulos, Wendi Lanham, Brianna Lowe, Sharleen Ndlovu, Jake Pafumi, Dinda Timperon
Image by Tracey Schramm

Theatre review
11 performers take to the stage, each with intimate revelations, for a discussion about the personal versus the social, from a perspective of individual lack and disadvantage. Not all of the cast is disabled, but Dignity Of Risk requires that human inadequacies are laid bare, for an examination of how each person navigates the world, with their own sets of imperfections. Through a display of weakness, it is the image of strength, previously imperceptible, that persists. The human spirit is everywhere, but it can only be brought to view by the expression of vulnerability.

The production takes a gentle tone, but it speaks with great power and a sublime beauty. The nonchalant delivery of lines, coupled with the unassailable authenticity the personalities invariably portray, initiates a slow burn that eventually, and surprisingly, overwhelms. Natalie Rose’s direction and Jennifer Medway’s dramaturgy, are consciously resistant of a sensationalist approach. They build poignancy through sensitivity and nuance, without a reliance on conventional narrative structures, and their trust in a universal benevolence pays off. A highlight is Holly Craig’s solo dance sequence, incredibly elegant and sensual, made even more moving later in the piece, when she explains the meanings that dancing holds for her, as a person with vision impairment.

In a show that talks a lot about our bodies, Margot Politis’ choreography plays a significant role, and what she does with movement, gesture and positioning, is nothing short of inspiring. Set to the wonderfully rousing electronic music of James Brown, the many non-verbal sequences of Dignity Of Risk are masterfully manufactured for our visceral response, involuntary yet hugely enjoyable. The production is visually sumptuous, with Melanie Liertz’s set and Fausto Brusamolino’s lights offering a range of ethereal dimensions that juxtapose delightfully against the very earthy, corporeal concerns of its players.

All of us have shortcomings but not everyone has the privilege of being able to hide them. For some, identity is intrinsically linked with their deficiencies, while others are allowed to be known only for their successes. No matter the faults we have, as defined by society or by the self, we all wish to be regarded with respect, and we all deserve to be seen for our capacity to contribute, as people who share in the earth.

www.atyp.com.au | www.shopfront.org.au

5 Questions with Brianna Lowe and Sharleen Ndlouv

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Brianna Lowe

Sharleen Ndlouv: What’s the last risk you took?
Brianna Lowe: Going to Japan without my parents.

What’s your favourite part of the show?
Talking on stage for the first time.

What makes you laugh?
Funny movies and having fun with other people.

What’s great about rehearsing and performing at ATYP?
The great atmosphere and feeling welcome.

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose and why?
To have the ability to move things with my mind, to cause mischief and be naughty.

Sharleen Ndlouv

Brianna Lowe: What’s the last risk you took?
Sharleen Ndlouv: Abseiling down a 50m waterfall.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I have quite a few but I give myself a pep talk and a victory dance.

Who do you think should see this show?
Everyone, for all those areas in life that need a bit of audacity, bit of re-mapping and just a little fun and loosening up, for that person we all know we can be.

Favourite silly joke?
What did sushi A say to sushi B? Wasabi!

What’s it like to play yourself on stage?
The most beautiful thing I have experienced so far.

Brianna Lowe and Sharleen Ndlouv can be seen in Dignity Of Risk devised by Shopfront’s Harness Ensemble and ATYP.
Dates: 9 – 26 Aug, 2017
Venue: ATYP