Bam! Warehouse Circus directed by Jeremy Davies, Pablo Latona and Kylie O'Keeffe. The Street Theatre, September 29 - October 8, 8pm. Bookings: 6247 1223.
Joyous celebration - that's the only way to describe Bam!
When I was 10 I loved balancing sticks and twirling ropes, and even made my own stilts. I just wish there had been a Warehouse Circus handy. I would have learned to juggle and uni-cycle, though I doubt I would ever have become as adept at tumbling as this Warehouse team.
But I hope I would have learned the tremendous sense of community and humour which oozes out of these young people. I last reviewed their work 3 years ago, enthusiastically, when original member Skye Morton had returned, after a professional performing career, to direct. Now, the 3 artistic directors, all Warehouse trained, are following through a commitment to the younger members - and the development shows.
Bam! is a nicely structured show, using music (and other sound effects) largely attributable to Pablo Latona, to underpin the action. O'Keeffe's set design (Skye Morton is now responsible for "rigging" and "lugging") and lighting by Chris Neal turn movement sequences into small dramas an extra step beyond the immediate tension of successfully demonstrating a physical skill. Much of the show is dance rather than gymnastics, but not the cold kind of competition in showing off skills which we see in the Olympics.
Warehouse have created original music and use circus-style movement to open up our emotional responses, especially in a scene using 4 black boxes, each inhabited by a young woman. All are dressed the same, contortions - in slow motion - are in unison, but slight differences in action create individuality despite apparent conformity.
The result is a show in the tradition of modern Australian circus - think of Circus Oz - melding music, action, humour and theatrical design in a quite original way. The mood is often underplayed, almost contemplative, rather than bold and brassy like traditional circus, and the effect is to draw the audience in to feeling at one with the performers. The first night crowd showed themselves warmly appreciative in the finale and curtain-call. This was community - Canberra's soul - in action.
Warehouse Circus provides training and performance opportunities for young people aged 8-25 years. Contact manager@warehousecircus.org.au (Tel: 6287 3968 Mobile: 0415 357 859).
© Frank McKone, Canberra
Friday, 30 September 2005
Saturday, 24 September 2005
2005: Gondwana: A Live Journey Through Time by ERTH
Gondwana: A Live Journey Through Time. ERTH Visual and Physical Theatre at the National Museum of Australia directed by Scott Wright. September 24 - October 9 (except Mondays), 11am and 2pm (and 6pm Friday September 30, Saturday October 1). Bookings: Phone NMA Freecall 1800 558 670; Details: www.nma.gov.au/events/major_events/gondwana/
Apart from Grand Finals, do not miss Gondwana. It's a fascinating live theatre museum exhibition which takes you back into "deep time" when Australia, New Zealand, Africa, India and South America were all joined to Antarctica - one huge continent we call Gondwana.
ERTH's genuinely life-size dinosaurs are just amazing. They move like the real thing, far better than Walking with Dinosaurs, thanks to one-time Canberran puppeteers adviser Peter Wilson and technician Bryony Anderson. Just you wait for the big one at the end.
The voice-over parts of the soundtrack are a bit acoustically-challenged, being mixed in with very large sounds of ancient evolution, but don't worry. The story is easy to follow in the action and projections, and you get a very informative sheet to go with the show so you can accurately answer the children's inevitable questions.
If you really want the details, seek out the books by ERTH's palaeontology adviser, Dr Mary White: The Greening of Gondwana, After the Greening, and Listen ... Our Land is Crying. This show is the first of three which will cover the time up to the dinosaurs, time after the dinosaurs, and the present time and future of Australia.
If for nothing else, you must see the imaginative, beautiful landscape of Gondwana in the time when moss, ferns, and cycads were as tall as today's trees. After the show you can see how ERTH make whole forests grow, collapse and grow again.
This is excellent theatre in the service of a great museum, where you should also visit the related displays: Platypus and Diprotodon (Tangled Destinies), Emu and Ochre (First Australians) and the Gondwana Plants (in the entrance hall), including Wollemi Pines. The science is accurate and the drama is engaging, from the goggle-eyed youngsters to very impressed adults I saw on opening day. A full house, by the way, so book early.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
Apart from Grand Finals, do not miss Gondwana. It's a fascinating live theatre museum exhibition which takes you back into "deep time" when Australia, New Zealand, Africa, India and South America were all joined to Antarctica - one huge continent we call Gondwana.
ERTH's genuinely life-size dinosaurs are just amazing. They move like the real thing, far better than Walking with Dinosaurs, thanks to one-time Canberran puppeteers adviser Peter Wilson and technician Bryony Anderson. Just you wait for the big one at the end.
The voice-over parts of the soundtrack are a bit acoustically-challenged, being mixed in with very large sounds of ancient evolution, but don't worry. The story is easy to follow in the action and projections, and you get a very informative sheet to go with the show so you can accurately answer the children's inevitable questions.
If you really want the details, seek out the books by ERTH's palaeontology adviser, Dr Mary White: The Greening of Gondwana, After the Greening, and Listen ... Our Land is Crying. This show is the first of three which will cover the time up to the dinosaurs, time after the dinosaurs, and the present time and future of Australia.
If for nothing else, you must see the imaginative, beautiful landscape of Gondwana in the time when moss, ferns, and cycads were as tall as today's trees. After the show you can see how ERTH make whole forests grow, collapse and grow again.
This is excellent theatre in the service of a great museum, where you should also visit the related displays: Platypus and Diprotodon (Tangled Destinies), Emu and Ochre (First Australians) and the Gondwana Plants (in the entrance hall), including Wollemi Pines. The science is accurate and the drama is engaging, from the goggle-eyed youngsters to very impressed adults I saw on opening day. A full house, by the way, so book early.
© Frank McKone, Canberra
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