Motion Sickness review | Melbourne Fringe | Trades Hall

There’s something exhilarating and nauseating about being alive right now - information flying at us from all directions, our brains struggling to keep up. Motion Sickness, the latest work from a2 company, takes these feelings and turns them into theatre: a charged collision of projections, sound, and language that mirrors the sensory barrage of the digital age. Performed with throbbing live music and restless physicality, it propels its audience to the brink of chaos before pulling them back toward something startlingly visceral.
 
On stage are writer and performer Ben Ashby, and composer and performer Toby Leman. And then Ashby begins sharing thoughts that seem random at first - on marine snow, Sudan, Gaza, telephone companies - but there’s method to the mayhem. It's a lot to take in, but that's the point. There is a lot going on in the world.

Words and sentences are constantly projected over a tubular frame draped in fabric, resembling a small, ghostly shower cubicle. They flicker, distort and morph, echoing the work’s shifting concepts. In one sequence, Ashby is surrounded by falling words, providing an evocative representation of information overload. The projections are timed and directed with pinpoint accuracy, slipping perfectly into place to heighten the show’s visual and emotional impact.
 
While this is happening, Leman stands in the corner with his keyboard and equipment, building a thumping score that drives the piece forward. During the movement sequences, the pair appear to surrender themselves to the sound, letting the music pulse through their bodies like a shared heartbeat.
 
And then there’s Ashby’s performance. He unleashes an astonishing torrent of text, speaking at breakneck speed, yet never losing the humanity in what he’s saying. He slows down when he needs to, mainly for the more reflective and personal moments, but at no time does the intensity diminish. He dances, he speaks, he moves - always present, always in the moment. He has given himself completely over to the execution of this, and it’s impossible not to get caught up in it.
 
Motion Sickness is a whirlwind of sound, movement, and ideas that demonstrates the dizzying pace of contemporary life. Ashby and Leman push their bodies, voices, and instruments to the limit, creating a work that is tumultuous yet profoundly relatable. The projections, the music, and Ashby’s relentless yet nuanced delivery come together to immerse the audience in a space where confusion and clarity coexist. When it all comes to an end, you feel the weight of the world, yes, but also the excitement of having been fully, vividly alive for an hour.

Read our interview with Ben and Toby here. 

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Trades Hall, Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton
Season: until 19 October | Wed - Sat 8:30pm, Sun 7:30pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: Full $34.50 | Concession $24.50 | Wednesday Hump Day $25.88
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Images credits: Liam Barr