Full Spectrum | Anna Whitaker & Riley Towers
The manipulation of the footage felt both hallucinogenic and as if the data was being corrupted. With the electronic tones accompanying the visuals, the experience felt like a computer analysing footage, perhaps trying to understand human behaviour.
Glass Child | The Farm & Kayah and Maitreyah Guenther
In the past two days, I have found myself continuously contemplating every aspect of the performance. The show had so many subtle details that made it truly special. As someone who enjoys revisiting past reviews to gauge a show’s lasting impact and reflect on any evolving opinions, I can confidently say that Glass Child has already left an indelible mark on me. It is a production that I will undoubtedly continue to think about for months to come.
The Bigger Picture | Sachém, featuring Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra.
With the colourful ensemble of Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra providing a sonically vibrant depth to Sachém’s poetic innovation from his 2021 debut EP Part of the Picture, The Bigger Picture is explosive but not unstable, complex yet entirely focused, and expansive without ever being overwhelming. Altogether, the experience is simultaneously the manifestation of the incredible skill and ambition of one man while also being an unreservedly proud celebration of a rich, inclusive community.
NONSTOP | Dots+Loops
The ebb and flow between classic and future sounds was so well balanced the similarities between the two became more apparent as the festival progressed. Almost as if we were guided through a showroom full of refurbished antiques and new things that had been aged so well, we could not tell the difference.
Locked In | Shock Therapy Productions
A masterclass in restraint, there is abundant space in this performance, with much unusual and interesting to muse upon. A highlight is the mixed stage vocabulary of acting, physical movement, dance and projection, creating a highly watchable storytelling mechanism.
Dirty Laundry | Briefs Factory
Briefs Factory’s Dirty Laundry is sexy but it also has a lot of heart and soul. It’s a show that not only dazzles but is also about connection and finding joy and pleasure in moments of uncertainty. It’s a show that will make you wolf-whistle, stomp your feet and leave you thirsty for more.
Demolition | Polytoxic
This work left me feeling seen on so many levels - as a Queer non-binary person struggling to fit the status quo, as a Maori woman who wasn’t raised on her Marae or Ancestral lands, as a Mother realising the importance of embracing culture for your children’s future, as a woman being surrounded by the constant pressures of living up to the patriarchal structure and never feeling good enough. I felt uplifted, hopeful, powerful and full of rage.
Seen But Not Her | Vulcana Circus
I felt like I was watching the inner workings of a glorious music box. The cogs in this microcosm represented by the musicians and their instruments, and the mathematics intrinsic to music generally, and more specifically in the complexity of a piano trio such as this. Also trapped in the music box, layered over these inner workings were the physical performers, who for me were like spirits or muses who represented the imperfect nature of creativity.
Rear Vision | Vulcana
The show tread gracefully the emotional arc from the trepidation of this year’s beginning, to the desolation and disquietude of its middle, to the elation at its approaching ending, and touched on themes of the pain of seeking human connection in a physically distanced world, the fragility of ‘normality’, and the power of collective action.
Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skindeep Collective
Escalating emotions aside, one of the many highlights of the night was sharing the same space with such a rich mix of people of colour from so many different ethnic backgrounds. This truly felt like being back home again. Besides the delivery of the original material, what impressed was the message of hope and reconciliation this conveyed. The youth of the performers belied the intensity and ferocity with which they boldly embraced their storytelling by speaking out about taboo subjects.
Snapshot | Polytoxic
Part installation, and part dramatic outdoor performance, Snapshot is most of an hour of lockdown reminiscing, dreaming, recovery, survival and bouncing back. Much of the projections were recorded when Polytoxic sent a call-out to artists to record a message and respond and tell us how they were doing.
Statum | Flipside Circus and Counterpilot
Statum is a smashing show, a dynamic collaboration between Flipside Circus and Nathan Sibthorpe (Counterpilot). Setting the standard for high-quality productions from youth ensembles, Flipside have created a fun hour of high-energy stunts, fusing technology and circus tricks in a range of visually interesting scenes.
Feedback | Dots+Loops
Feedback offered a sublime balance of artistic innovation and inviting, engaging audience experiences. If one were ever pressed to showcase the unique charm and potential of Brisbane’s creative community in one event, Feedback would do nicely.
TRUTHMACHINE | Counterpilot
Each audience member had to vote first on questions relating to what truth means to them personally, before assessing whether or not they thought I was telling the truth under investigation. The whole idea of truth was under investigation. And the audience was forced to ask themselves, does this even matter anymore?
Cirquetry | Vulcana
Cirquetry’s 30min work in development showing at the 2019 Queensland Poetry Festival,is a gorgeous blend of circus and spoken word. It showcases the possibilitiesof how mixing them together can bring new depth and meaning to each art form,which begs to be explored further. I look forward to seeing how thiscollaboration develops.
How to Spell Love | Anisa Nandaula & Queensland Poetry Festival
Anisa Nandaula’s poetry (which, again, is the heart of the work) is deeply confronting and evocative – challenging and documenting the crimes of colonialism, toxic relationships, racism, capitalism and the many unpleasant intersections thereof.
Conviction | Dots+Loops
It’s hypnotic, beautiful and, in a strangely weightless way, gripping. The kind of performance that could easily open the minds of more populistly inclined audiences to the brilliance of opera and medieval art music. Which, when considered as a feat independent of the specific performance context, feels almost miraculous.
Nautical but Nice | Ruckus Slam
Yo ho ho and a barrel of fun. Ruckus Slam, purveyors of poetry, cabaret and alt-arts for the indie kids of Brisbane, have delivered another sterling production in their most ambitious venue to date.
Hold My Beer | Half-Hitch
Like a good night out, dares and games result in the cast swapping roles, utilising two stages and much of the room and the audience being drawn into the show and into the fun on the stage. T his provides some of the best moments of the show, as the performers compete against each other and audience members to unexpected results.
Skyward | Republic of Song
We begin with a beautiful dreamy introduction, a delicate song performed on cello and piano as we watch a mesmerising timelapse. Throughout the performance, Bale explores the inherent urge to escape, to fly free into the sky, and the inevitable sadness that comes with the realisation of gravity, and impossibility, and mortality.