Nu-Disco! review (Melb Fringe)

Some of our most memorable moments happen here. We meet people who we instantly connect with while knowing nothing about them. People we may have never otherwise met. We also learn about ourselves and even how society functions. Welcome to the world of clubbing. Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Ellen Marning's Nu-Disco! takes us into the dark recesses of a pulsating nightclub and the people who go there.

The experience of sitting in a tiny theatre space and seeing it transform into a tight, crowded, sweaty space of bodies moving together with a single person on stage is quite surreal. Marning delivers an enthralling performance as she swaps between characters while covering a gamut of emotions, thoughts and encounters. There is a lot of care taken to tell these stories in a genuine manner, and while they may be funny, we are never laughing at them.

Ellen Marning is dancing the night (and the day) away with "Nu-Disco!"

You can dance. You can jive. Having the time of your life. That's what Ellen Marning was doing in Berlin earlier this year as she immersed herself in some fervent daytime clubbing. And she's bringing it to Melbourne. Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Nu-Disco! takes a look at dance culture and sharing "the moment".

"I was drawn to a show set in a club space because I love dancing and wanted permission to go clubbing as a form of ‘research’ and also having worked with award-winning audio artist Robert Downie in the past, I felt a lot of trust and excitement about working with him sonically to establish place, mood and character," Marning tells me. "Nu-Disco! explores one woman’s experience at a club over the course of a night. Time stretches and condenses in a club space (at least to me anyway) and it’s a metaphor for where she is at in her life. Late 20s, confused, horny, lonely, full of bravado, full of questions, full of rage she can’t quite place. It’s a celebration of the highs and an examination of the lows that can go along with these spaces."

Bunny review (Melbourne International Comedy Fetival)

New Zealand performer Barnie Duncan returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with a show that is quite unlike what he has done in the past. His trademark absurdity is still evident in Bunny, but Duncan's dissection of whether dancing at a nightclub at 3am was a way of dealing with his grief or avoiding it after his mother passed away last year, adds a level of intimacy and vulnerability that is often difficult to convey on stage.

While a few jokes don't land that well, or have been tacked on for a cheap laugh (Will Smith's Oscars behaviour is already such a tired punchline), Duncan shows strong control of the audience and meeting the expectations we have upon entering this surreal show about clubbing and death. The unique way in which Duncan sees and understands the world is clearly presented, and with an open heart he shares the complexities of dealing with grief and mourning the death of a loved one, particularly during a pandemic.

Love, Hugs + Kisses - Midsumma Festival preview

Nestled in a laneway near Elizabeth and Londsdale streets, queer underground nightclub, Hugs + Kisses, opened its doors in 2010 and for nine years it was a supportive space for LGBTIQ+ people to get together and make it their own. Music, dancing, liberation, open-minds and self-expression were all welcome. In January 2019, it closed its doors for the last time.

Photographer Nik Epifanidis was at Hugs + Kisses on its closing night. Set up outside the club, he spent the evening taking portraits of who was there, capturing the mood and tone that was present in the crowd. Only able to spend a few minutes with each person, Epifanidis asked them to focus on the emotion they wished to convey to the camera. The result of that is the Love, Hugs + Kisses exhibition, which acts as a compendium to a documentary on the club that is scheduled to be released in 2020, and begin presented as part of the Midsumma Festival.

While not personally connected to Hugs + Kisses, Epifanidis understood the importance and relevance of this venue closing, and was keen to be involved in the project when the film makers of the documentary made contact. "I hadn’t been to Hugs + Kisses, but I've always been intrigued by counter culture and how this is communicated. There is usually a good reason these places come into existence that speaks about people feeling the need to show themselves and be heard in a way they are unable to in the current mainstream," he says.