She's previously regaled us with shows on parasites and bees but for this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Alanta Colley is going to entertain us with ... shit. Yes, that's right, shit. On the Origin of Faeces will have Colley celebrating all that we excrete as she deep dives into our guts and bowels and open us up to how we see and think about our poo. The scientist/comedian has been working on this shit show for months and Colley is eagerly waiting to share her wealth of knowledge on the matter with Melbourne.
The question that most people will immediately have for Colley is why? What makes someone decide to research all things poo for a comedy show? "Purely for the challenge. I mean, has anyone written a joke about poo before? Is it even possible? " She asks.
"Poo is a source of secrecy and shame for all of us, but
in science we are having a poo Renaissance. After the 20th century being mainly about identifying bad bacteria and killing it, we're now realising how much bacteria is
beneficial for us, that it plays a key role in our digestion, hormone production and moods, and we're just at the dawn of understanding how the gut talks to the brain. It's really fascinating, so this was a chance to sink my teeth into the latest research on faecal transplants, studies of the gut microbiome, and confront some of my own biases and fears on poo."
Transgender bodies, identity and environment serve as the focus of
Embittered Swish's new work with their Next Wave Festival show, Estrogenesis. Taking on a technology themed
approach to gender, the performance art piece explores what happens when you
alter the 'hardware' of gender and what the ramifications of such an
act are.
Performed by Mossy 333, Romy Fox, Bobuq Sayed and Mick Klepner Roe, we
witness several scenes that delve into what it is to be trans through a variety
of art mediums including spoken word, music and dance. There are some
interesting issues and themes raised, including Sayed’s spoken word on the
trans body and the differences that exist within the trans community.
Circus doesn’t come as bare as One Fell Swoop’s By A Thread.
Presented at Gasworks Arts Park, the entire show consists of one prop: a 30
metre piece of rope held up by two pulleys. The way in which the rope is used
throughout the show, in both a literal sense and a metaphorical
one, leaves audiences thoroughly entertained with the
opportunity to consider the relationships in their life and what trust means to
them.
The spool of rope is used as a representation of
trust; trust that the performers place in each other and the trust that we
place in people in our own lives. The seven emerging circus artists (Jonathan
Morgan, Charice Rust, Sarah Berrell, Ryan Darwin, Ela Bartilomo, Hamish Norris,
and Jordan O’Brien from Melbourne’s National Institute of Circus Arts)
completely and utterly depend on each other to execute their routines as they
are constantly being flung into the air, spun around and dropping into each other’s
arms.
The ensemble work confidently as a cohesive team who are able to communicate
with each other by just a glance and know exactly where each of them are at any
given time. Their amusing and playful acts include an imaginative
interpretation of pass the parcel and a brilliant see-saw routine that
showcases their immense flexibility, agility and strength. There is a strong
feeling of innocence and openness flowing throughout the show but there are
numerous times where more complex thoughts are explored.
Presented as part of the Melbourne Festival, Limbo is an exhilarating blend of circus, acrobatics and cabaret that will have audiences speechless and leave them wanting much much more. With a strong nod to the 1920s and performed in a spiegeltent, Limbo transports its audience into a seedy underworld of no barriers or rules, a place where everyone can come and play no matter what your tastes and likes may be.
Its international cast ensures that they have the best of the best in its skilled performers including fire-breather sword-swallower Heather Holliday who at one point literally has the stage in flames and the near-impossible contortionist act by Tigris. Other highlights include Danic Abishev's hand-balancing act and Mikael Bres' Chinese pole act, which left audiences gasping throughout.
Let's talk about sex baby. If you like my body and you think I'm sexy. Let me play with your body make you real hot. Despite these three sentences being lyrics to three very well known songs about sex, they also encapsulate Katerina Vrana's show, aptly titled About Sex.
Born in Greece but having lived almost two decades in England, Vrana's has a wealth of stories and anecdotes to share of these two cultures and their dealings with sex. Her impersonations of her family members, including her mother and father, are brilliant but it is when she talks about her 17-year-old brother asking her for sex advice that things really get cracking. One simple question from him is all it takes for the audience to be simultaneously shocked and howling in laughter.
Created from a rock that impregnated a star, WOMANz (Tessa Waters), is a sparkly sequined big-haired, self-loving machine, and she is here to teach to us about loving ourselves, each other and our crotchal area. In fact, there is much love for the crotchal area.
Waters has charisma, and builds on this through her goofy facial expressions and interaction with the audience to the point where without any coaxing, she manages to get everyone standing up and performing in a ridiculous but fun dance routine. I can safely say I never expected myself to ever crump, especially in a room full of strangers, but then that's what WOMANz is about; letting go of insecurities and fear and doing what feels good and fun.
